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What are the main bases housing US forces in the Middle East?

During its war with the United States, Iran has targeted Middle East bases where American troops are stationed, turning assets once seen as a bulwark against Tehran into targets. Below, AFP examines some of the major concentrations of US forces in the region, which fall under the US military’s Central Command (Centcom). Elizabeth Dent, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said Middle East bases housing US troops “can support a wide range of missions from logistics, pre-positioning assets, refuelling, and of course combat operations”. Iran, in justifying its own retaliatory strikes, has accused Gulf states of allowing the US to use the bases to launch attacks, which Dent said was likely, though Tehran’s “perennial argument that all of these bases are inherently offensive is not accurate”. Bahrain The small kingdom hosts the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet and US Naval Forces Central Command headquarters. Bahrain’s deep-water port can accommodate the largest US military vessels, such as aircraft carriers, and the US Navy has used the base since 1948, when it was operated by Britain’s Royal Navy. US ships including anti-mine vessels and logistical support ships have their home port in Bahrain. Bahrain has faced heavy Iranian strikes, and early in the war, Manama briefly evacuated the neighborhood hosting the Fifth Fleet as it came under attack. Iraq Iraq is a close Iran ally, but also a strategic US partner. American troops are deployed as part of the US-led coalition to fight the Islamic State group in Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region, mostly at the Erbil airport and al-Harir air base. The coalition is preparing to end its mission in Iraq by the end of September. Iraqi groups have hit US facilities, including diplomatic missions in Baghdad and Erbil, more than 600 times during the war. Last week, a US service member was killed in northern Iraq during the controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian drone. Jordan While Iran often refers to “American bases” in Jordan, Amman and Washington maintain that the sites are Jordanian bases housing US troops. In the run-up to the February 28 strikes on Iran that launched the war, the US reportedly deployed dozens of military aircraft to Jordan’s Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, which also houses other Western forces. The base has F-16, F-15 and F-35 fighter jets, as well as refuelling and reconnaissance aircraft, drones, and Patriot and THAAD air defense systems. Iranian attacks recently killed three US service members in Jordan. “In recent years, largely because of Iran’s growing missile, drone, and proxy network, the US shifted toward more nimble basing along the western side of the Middle East region” in Israel and Jordan, according to Dent, a former director for the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula in the Office of the US Secretary of Defence. Kuwait The US has had a significant military presence in Kuwait after coming to its aid when Iraq invaded in 1990. It has several US bases, including Camp Arifjan, housing the forward headquarters for the US Army component of Centcom. Ali al-Salem Air Base hosts the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing, which serves as a primary airlift hub and gateway to deliver combat power to joint and coalition forces in the region. Washington has also deployed drones including MQ-9 Reapers to Kuwait. Six US service members have been killed there since the war began, as well as four Kuwaiti troops and border guards. Qatar Qatar houses the Al Udeid Air Base, which includes forward components of Centcom, as well the command’s air forces and special operations forces. The largest US base in the Middle East, it hosts rotating combat aircraft and the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, which includes airlift, aerial refuelling, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and medical evacuation assets. Iran hit Al Udeid during the current war, having first attacked it in June 2025 following US strikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities. United Arab Emirates The UAE’s Al Dhafra Air Base hosts the US 380th Air Expeditionary Wing, a force composed of 10 squadrons of aircraft that also includes drones such as MQ-9 Reapers. Combat aircraft have rotated through Al Dhafra, which also hosts the US Air Force’s hub for advanced air warfare training. Saudi Arabia US forces returned to Saudi Arabia in 2019 following a bilateral agreement. The kingdom does not have American bases but it hosts troops at its Prince Sultan Air Base in Al-Kharj, outside Riyadh, which houses the 378th Air Expeditionary Wing and has come under attack. A US service member in Saudi Arabia was killed after sustaining wounds in an Iranian attack in March. Despite deadly attacks, Chatham House Middle East expert Neil Quilliam said he did not expect Gulf states to contemplate reducing the US military presence, “though DC itself, is likely to reconsider its military posture in the region”.