The US withdrew some staff from a military base in Qatar on Wednesday as Iran said it was ready to fight off any American attack in support of anti-regime protests.
Qatar said the departure of certain personnel from Al Udeid airbase was part of “measures being undertaken” in response to regional tension. Iran said “all American bases” would be potential targets for retaliation, if the US launches strikes.
Last year, the US moved some personnel and their families off Middle East bases shortly before Israeli and American warplanes attacked Iran. A 12-day air war culminated in Iran firing missiles at Al Udeid.
Qatar's International Media Office said the state was talking “all necessary measures” to protect its citizens, including actions related to the protection of critical infrastructure and military sites.
A US official told Reuters earlier on Wednesday that the US was withdrawing personnel from key bases in the region as a precaution. The US told its citizens in Saudi Arabia to “exercise increased caution”.
An Iranian general said air forces belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were at their “highest level of defensive preparedness” and ready to “crush any aggression”. Brig Gen Majid Mousavi said production had increased since the war with Israel, according to state media.
With fears of US strikes growing, one western security official told The National: “All the combat indicators are showing that there is a green light for a significant operation.
“Our intelligence agencies understand that strikes are increasingly imminent. There have been warning orders to evacuate from Iran and we are seeing the initial evacuation of some US personnel and their families from Qatar.”
They are expecting “surgical strike operations” that will be tactically and operationally decisive” but will also allow for relative de-escalation.
Another Iranian official said on Wednesday that Tehran had warned neighbours hosting US troops that it would hit American bases if Washington strikes.
Jaafar Safri, an Iranian consul general in Iraq, said Washington had been informed that “all American bases are within our targets if the republic is targeted”. He accused the US and Israel of exploiting the unrest over economic conditions in Iran.
Al Udeid in Qatar hosts more than 10,000 US military personnel, making it the largest American military installation in the Middle East. Its two 3,750-metre runways can accommodate every aircraft in the US arsenal, from B-52 bombers to C-17 transport planes.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene in support of protesters in Iran, where a rights group said 2,600 people have been killed in a crackdown on one of the biggest ever waves of protest against clerical rule.
In an interview with CBS News on Tuesday, Mr Trump pledged “very strong action” if Iran executes protesters. “If they hang them, you're going to see some things,” he said. He also urged Iranians on Tuesday to keep protesting and take over institutions, declaring “help is on the way”.
Iranian authorities have accused the US and Israel of fomenting the unrest, carried out by people it calls terrorists. The Intelligence Ministry said on Wednesday that several “ringleaders” had been arrested over alleged acts of sabotage and terror during the protests. Mobile phones and receivers were confiscated.
Iran's rulers have weathered several bouts of unrest before, including student protests in 1999, over a disputed election in 2009, against economic hardships in 2019, and in 2022 over the death in custody of a woman accused of breaching dress codes.
Still, Iran's regional influence has taken a blow from losses suffered by allies in Lebanon and Syria, and the country is still recovering from the war with Israel in June last year. And Mr Trump has repeatedly threatened intervention since sending troops to seize the president of Venezuela – a Tehran ally – this month.
According to an Israeli assessment, Mr Trump has decided to intervene in the latest unrest, although the scope and timing of this action remains unclear, an Israeli official said.
Iran's parliament speaker has also threatened retaliation against any strikes. “To prevent miscalculation, understand that should you take action to attack Iran, both the occupied territories [Israel] and all American military centres, bases, and ships in the region will be legitimate targets,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on state television.
