Where are the main US military bases in the Middle East?
Jan 14 (Reuters) - Following are the significant military bases in the Middle East. Iran has threatened to strike U.S. bases in the region if attacked by Washington, after U.S. President Donald Trump told Iranians to keep protesting and declared "help is on the way".
BAHRAIN:
Home to the headquarters of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, whose area of responsibility includes the Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean.
QATAR:
The 24-hectare (59-acre) Al Udeid Air Base, in the desert outside the capital Doha, is the forward headquarters for U.S. Central Command, which directs U.S. military operations in a huge swathe of territory stretching from Egypt in the west to Kazakhstan in the east. The Middle East's largest U.S. base houses around 10,000 troops.
U.S. Central Command said in January that it and regional partners had opened a new coordination cell (MEAD-CDOC) at Al Udeid to enhance integrated air and missile defence. The new cell would improve how regional forces coordinate and share air and missile responsibilities across the Middle East, it said.
KUWAIT:
Several sprawling military installations include Camp Arifjan, the forward headquarters of U.S. Army Central and the Ali Al Salem Air Base, roughly 40 km (25 miles) from the Iraqi border and known as "The Rock" for its isolated, rugged environment. Camp Buehring was established during the 2003 Iraq War and is a staging post for U.S. Army units deploying into Iraq and Syria, according to the U.S. Army website.
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:
The Al Dhafra Air Base, situated south of the UAE capital Abu Dhabi and shared with the UAE Air Force, is a critical U.S. Air Force hub that has supported key missions against the Islamic State, as well as reconnaissance deployments across the region, according to the U.S. Air Force Central Command.
Dubai's Jebel Ali Port, while not a formal military base, is the U.S. Navy's largest port of call in the Middle East and regularly hosts U.S. aircraft carriers and other vessels.
IRAQ:
The U.S. maintains a presence at Ain Al Asad Air Base in western Anbar province, supporting Iraqi security forces and contributing to the NATO mission, according to the White House. Iranian missile strikes targeted the base in 2020, in retaliation for the U.S. killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.
Situated in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq, Erbil Air Base serves as a hub for U.S. and coalition forces conducting training exercises and battle drills. The base supports U.S. military efforts by providing a secure location for training, intelligence sharing, and logistical coordination in northern Iraq, according to a 2024 Library of Congress report.
SAUDI ARABIA:
U.S. soldiers in Saudi Arabia - who numbered 2,321 in 2024 according to a White House letter - operate in coordination with the Saudi government, providing air and missile defence capabilities and supporting the operation of U.S. military aircraft.
Some are stationed roughly 60 km south of Riyadh, at Prince Sultan Air Base, which supports U.S. Army air defence assets including Patriot missile batteries and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense systems.
JORDAN:
Located in Azraq, 100 km northeast of the capital Amman, the Muwaffaq al Salti Air Base hosts the U.S. Air Forces Central's 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, which engages in missions across the Levant, according to the Library of Congress.
TURKEY:
Turkey and the U.S. jointly run the Incirlik Air Base in the southern Adana province. It hosts U.S. nuclear warheads and has been used to support the international coalition fighting Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. It is also home to 1,465 members of the U.S. military stationed in Turkey.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali, Andrew Mills, Luke Tyson, Nadine Awadalla, Federico Maccioni, Pesha Magid, Jana Choukeir, Tuvan GumrukcuEditing by Edmund Blair and Alexandra Hudson)
