Several U.S. bases across the Middle East — in Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait — have come under Iranian attack over the last couple of months, raising questions about the long-term safety and security of those bases given the threat landscape in the region.The Department of War sought to protect troops before the war by removing many of them from bases they thought would be early targets for Iranian retaliation when the war was set to commence, while multiple expensive bases were vulnerable to Iranian drones and missiles.As recently as overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, Iran retaliated against U.S. strikes by targeting American bases in Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait, though those attacks were stopped.
Defense officials have been tight-lipped about the damage Iran’s retaliatory attacks caused, but the attacks over the last several months could change the department’s long-term thinking on basing in the region, or the defensive capabilities at them.
Iran’s attacks have damaged or destroyed at least 228 structures or pieces of equipment across the region, the Washington Post reported in early May, though their tally includes barracks, hangars, fuel depots, and aircraft, in addition to bases. The current tally is presumably higher given there have been Iranian attacks since the analysis was published.
