The United States has maintained a military presence in the Middle East for decades, currently stationing between 40,000 and 50,000 troops across at least 19 sites.
The United States announced on Wednesday that it is preparing a partial evacuation of its embassy in Iraq and has authorised “the voluntary departure” of dependants of American personnel from locations across the Middle East, including Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, as regional security concerns rise.
On Wednesday evening, US President Donald Trump explained that the decision to relocate staff was made because the region “could be a dangerous place”.
Tensions have been rising recently, fuelled by stalled negotiations between the US and Iran over its nuclear programme, further inflamed by Israel’s repeated statements that it is prepared to launch a strike on Iran.
The US has operated military bases in the Middle East for decades.
