{"id":48036,"date":"2025-06-18T19:47:50","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T19:47:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2025\/06\/18\/us-troops-bases-in-middle-east-could-be-targets-in-conflict-with-iran\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T16:59:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:59:57","slug":"us-troops-bases-in-middle-east-could-be-targets-in-conflict-with-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2025\/06\/18\/us-troops-bases-in-middle-east-could-be-targets-in-conflict-with-iran\/","title":{"rendered":"US troops, bases in Middle East could be targets in conflict with Iran"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If President Donald Trump opts to launch military strikes against Iran, hostile forces in the region likely won\u2019t be able to launch direct attacks against the U.S. homeland. But <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2025\/06\/13\/us-shifts-warships-in-mideast-in-response-to-israel-strikes\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2025\/06\/13\/us-shifts-warships-in-mideast-in-response-to-israel-strikes\/\">American military targets in the region<\/a> will face significant dangers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During questioning from senators Wednesday, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2025\/06\/18\/hegseth-says-army-base-renamings-will-move-ahead-despite-concerns\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2025\/06\/18\/hegseth-says-army-base-renamings-will-move-ahead-despite-concerns\/\">Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth<\/a> said officials are providing a number of possible options regarding <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/pentagon\/2025\/06\/13\/us-helps-defend-israel-from-iranian-missile-attack\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/pentagon\/2025\/06\/13\/us-helps-defend-israel-from-iranian-missile-attack\/\">Iran<\/a> to Trump, while also focusing on the safety of American forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe have maximum force protection in the region at all times being maintained,\u201d Hegseth stated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even with recent withdrawals of U.S. troops and personnel from the region, significant assets remain. About 40,000 active-duty troops and Defense Department civilians are currently deployed in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/breaking-news\/2024\/09\/23\/us-sending-more-troops-to-middle-east-as-violence-rises-in-the-region\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/breaking-news\/2024\/09\/23\/us-sending-more-troops-to-middle-east-as-violence-rises-in-the-region\/\">the Middle East<\/a>, according to the Pentagon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hegseth last week authorized the \u201cvoluntary departure\u201d of all military dependents in the region, in anticipation of potential threats. <\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2025\/06\/13\/us-shifts-warships-in-mideast-in-response-to-israel-strikes\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9041760.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">US shifts warships in Mideast in response to Israel strikes<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Navy has directed the destroyer Thomas Hudner, capable of defending against ballistic missiles, to begin sailing toward the eastern Mediterranean.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The region features several major U.S. military installations, including Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, regional headquarters for the U.S. Central Command and several active sites in Kuwait, whose border sits just a few miles from Iranian territory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Tuesday, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/06\/17\/us\/politics\/iran-israel-us-bases.html\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/06\/17\/us\/politics\/iran-israel-us-bases.html\">The New York Times reported<\/a> U.S. intelligence assets have reviewed Iranian plans for strikes on U.S. bases in the Middle East if the United States joins Israel\u2019s military offensive against the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After Israel\u2019s war in Gaza began in the fall of 2023, many of those sites in Iraq and Syria came under fire from Iran-backed proxy groups in the region, who lobbed drones and other weapons at U.S. positions. Between October 2023 and November 2024, there were more than 180 such attacks, which at times injured U.S. service members, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fdd.org\/iranattacksusforces\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.fdd.org\/iranattacksusforces\/\">the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The U.S. military has at times struggled to defend against these strikes, especially those involving relatively cheap weapons that American forces can only intercept with much more expensive drones or air defense missiles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Any potential attack by Iran, which has a large store of drones and ballistic missiles, would be far more threatening than the prior assaults by smaller adversaries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI have no assurance that we have the capacity to safeguard against a swarm of small, lightweight, slow moving drones,\u201d said Senate Armed Services Committee member Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. \u201cRight now, if we engage in the Iran conflict, that would put U.S. personnel at risk there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To counter those kinds of threats, Navy officials last week directed two destroyers to the eastern Mediterranean Sea for possible force-protection missions. Other naval assets are on standby, and the U.S. is also sending a second carrier strike group to the region \u2014 one of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/pentagon\/2024\/09\/25\/what-will-the-surge-of-us-forces-to-the-middle-east-cost-the-military\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/pentagon\/2024\/09\/25\/what-will-the-surge-of-us-forces-to-the-middle-east-cost-the-military\/\">multiple times the Pentagon has done so in the last two years<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Wednesday\u2019s testimony, Hegseth declined to offer specifics on exactly how the U.S. intends to protect its troops if Iran were to participate in direct strikes against American assets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The United States has already begun direct support for Israel\u2019s defense, helping intercept Iranian missiles aimed at Tel Aviv and other cities after the two adversaries began exchanging missile attacks last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump was asked by reporters Wednesday morning if he has made a decision about further involvement in the region. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWill we strike the Iranian nuclear component? I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I\u2019m going to do,\u201d Trump replied. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI can tell you this, that Iran\u2019s got a lot of trouble, and they want to negotiate.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>About 40,000 U.S. personnel are spread throughout the region, giving Iran a chance to strike back at American military forces. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":109691,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[8,160,33,36],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3424,3458],"class_list":["post-48036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-congress","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"DIPYRE2QYRH7FP7XIZGR7YL7LY","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2025\/06\/18\/us-troops-bases-in-middle-east-could-be-targets-in-conflict-with-iran\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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