{"id":56166,"date":"2019-06-23T16:50:28","date_gmt":"2019-06-23T16:50:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/06\/23\/after-attack-iraq-boosts-security-measures-at-balad-air-base-where-us-trainers-stay\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T08:54:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T08:54:04","slug":"after-attack-iraq-boosts-security-measures-at-balad-air-base-where-us-trainers-stay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/06\/23\/after-attack-iraq-boosts-security-measures-at-balad-air-base-where-us-trainers-stay\/","title":{"rendered":"After attack, Iraq boosts security measures at air base where US trainers stay"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BAGHDAD \u2014 Security measures were increased at one of Iraq\u2019s largest air bases that houses American trainers following an attack last week<\/a>, a top Iraqi air force commander said Saturday. The U.S. military said operations at the base were going on as usual and there were currently no plans to evacuate personnel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stepped-up Iraqi security measures at Balad air base, just north of the capital, Baghdad, come amid sharply rising tensions in the Middle East<\/a> between the United States and Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current regional crisis is rooted in the U.S. withdrawal last year from the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers. Washington subsequently re-imposed sanctions on Iran, sending its economy into freefall and cutting deeply into its oil exports.<\/p>\n\n\n\t