The U.S. military is evacuating an unspecified number of nonessential personnel from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar as a precautionary measure while President Trump weighs ordering military action over the protests in Iran.
The Pentagon began moving some personnel out of the sprawling air base because of the rising tension between the United States and Iran over the Tehran government’s crackdown against protesters there, according to two U.S. military officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters.
The Qatari government said in a statement that the evacuations “are being undertaken in response to the current regional tensions.” The Pentagon’s Central Command declined to comment.
In a social media post on Tuesday, Mr. Trump told Iranians demonstrating against their government that “help is on its way,” a signal the United States may soon intervene.
If Mr. Trump orders military strikes against Iran, his options are somewhat limited. Last fall, the Pentagon sent the carrier Gerald R. Ford and other escort warships from the eastern Mediterranean to the Caribbean.
Even so, the Navy has three missile-firing destroyers in the Middle East region now, including the Roosevelt, which in recent days has steamed into the Red Sea, military officials said on Wednesday. The Navy also has at least one missile-firing submarine in the region, Pentagon officials said.
The Pentagon has presented a wide range of options to Mr. Trump. Possible targets for a strike include Iran’s nuclear program, going beyond the U.S. airstrikes that battered some of those targets in June, and ballistic missile sites, U.S. officials have said.
But other options, such as a cyberattack or a strike against Iran’s domestic security apparatus, which is using lethal force against protesters, were more likely, the officials have said. An attack is at least several days away, and could prompt a vigorous retaliation from Iran, officials said.
After the United States attack on three Iranian nuclear sites last June, Iran retaliated by firing missiles at Al Udeid, the biggest U.S. base in the Middle East. It serves as the regional headquarters for the U.S. Central Command and about 10,000 troops are stationed there.
The U.S. military has been using Al Udeid Air Base since the Sept. 11 attacks, when it positioned planes there to target the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. Two years later, Al Udeid became the main U.S. air operations hub in the region and is heavily fortified by an array of air defenses.
U.S. commanders used the base to coordinate missions during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as strikes against the Islamic State in Syria. The Air Force has deployed a variety of aircraft there, including advanced fighters, long-range bombers, drones, transport planes and in-flight refueling tankers.
Eric Schmitt is a national security correspondent for The Times. He has reported on U.S. military affairs and counterterrorism for more than three decades.
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