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American troops based in the Middle East could face greater attacks in the next few days or weeks, if the United States decides to get involved in the growing conflict between Israel and Iran.
The White House Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said Thursday that President Donald Trump will make a decision in the next two weeks if the United States will advance and attack the Iranian nuclear facilities.
“Yes, I can do it. I may not do it,” Trump said Wednesday. “I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do. I can tell you this, that Iran has many problems and want to negotiate.”
Meanwhile, Iran has issued a clear message: doing so will come with consequences. Iran has warned that the United States will suffer whether to participate in the conflict, and previously issued attack attacks against bases where US troops were housed after the United States killed an Iranian superior general in 2020.
“Americans should know that any US military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage,” Iran's supreme leader said Wednesday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Wednesday, according to state media.
The Pentagon has reinforced its forces in the Middle East in the light of the growing tensions, including sending the Nimitz aircraft carrier from the southern China Sea to join the Carl Vinson aircraft carrier in the Middle East.
Trump weighs Iranian nuclear facilities: “I can do it, I may not do it”
The Pentagon has reinforced its forces in the Middle East in the light of the growing tensions. (Mario Tama)
The Pentagon referred to Fox News Digital for the Sean Parnell Department of Defense, Monday's statement that US forces remain in a “defensive position” and Hegseth's announcement on Monday that more forces had been deployed in the Middle East.
“Protecting US forces is our highest priority and these deployments are aimed at improving our defensive position in the region,” Hegseth said Monday.
Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., He pressed Hegseth on Wednesday to obtain details on the contingency plans of drones in the midst of growing tensions in the Middle East. Three members of the US service were killed in an attack of drones not manned in Jordan in January 2024 who attributed to a militia backed by the body of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard.
“I do not have the assurance that we have the ability to safeguard against a swarm of small, light and slow movement that, in my opinion, our great vulnerability, and at this time, if we get involved in Iran's conflict, the staff of the United States and the United States would put at risk,” Blumenthal said Wednesday.
Currently, the United States has more than 40,000 US and civilian troops of the Department of Defense parked in the Middle East. These are some of the countries where American military personnel are and could face high threats:
Iraq
Approximately 2,500 US military personnel are parked in Iraq as of September 2024, and are assigned to the inherent resolution of the Joint Task Force -Combined Operation, according to the Department of Defense. His role in Iraq implies advising and supporting socio forces in the region to defeat ISIS.
After the 2020 American air attack that killed the Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in Iraq, the Iranian forces launched ballistic missile attacks at the Erbil Air Base and the Ain Al-Asad Air Base in Iraq, where US troops are parked.
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US Army soldiers. UU. Training at the Ain Al-Asad Air Base in western Iraq. (US Army)
Jordan
According to the Department of Defense, about 350 US troops in Jordan are deployed in a remote military base known as Torre 22.
In January 2024, three soldiers died and another 40 were injured when an air system without a unidirectional road hit Tower 22.
In May, ten soldiers of the New York Army Guard received a purple heart for the wounds they suffered in the attack. The Pentagon blamed a militia backed by Iranian for the attack.
Kuwait
Currently, the United States operates five bases at Kuwait: Camp Arifjan, Ali Al Salem Air Base, Camp Buehring, Camp Patriot and Camp Spearhead.
As of January, approximately 13,500 US troops are based there and focus mainly on eliminating the threat of ISIS, according to the United States Department of State.
Qatar
Qatar receives the front headquarters of the US Central Command. In the Udeid Air Base, home of 379º Air Force Expeditionary Wing, which the central command of the Air Forces has called the “largest and most diverse wing” within the command. The wing includes aerial transfer, air refueling intelligence, surveillance and recognition, and aeromedical evacuation assets, according to the central command of the Air Forces.
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President Donald Trump arrives to go to the troops at the air base to the Udeid to the southwest of Doha, Qatar, on May 15, 2025. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP through Getty Images)
Bahrain
The Central Command of the Naval Forces is based in Manama, Bahrein, where he heads a coalition of regional and international partners who focus on supporting the work forces aimed at the contracterrorism, hiring and maritime security in the region.
The Navy first established a Bahrain base in 1971, which has organized the Central Command of Naval Forces since 1983.
United Arab Emirates
Only 20 miles south of the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, is the Air Base Al Dhafra, Home of the Expeditionary Air Wing of the Air Force.
The wing includes unmanned planes that include the Global Hawk RQ-4, a remotely piloted surveillance plane.
