The United States has started evacuating hundreds of troops from its largest air base in the Middle East ahead of potential military action against Iran, according to a US official.
The troops at Al Udeid Air Base are moving to other facilities and hotels in the region, taking them out of harm’s way should any US attack trigger retaliation from Tehran, the source said.
The Qatari government said personnel were being withdrawn from the base “in response to the current regional tensions.” It said in a statement that it would take “all necessary measures to safeguard the security and safety of its citizens and residents as a top priority.”
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The US Mission to Saudi Arabia meanwhile advised personnel and American citizens to “exercise increased caution and limit non-essential travel to any military installations in the region.”
The effort comes as US President Donald Trump considers a range of options for potential military action in Iran in response to the regime’s deadly crackdown on protesters.
Iranian officials said on Sunday that US and Israeli military bases in the region could be targeted if a strike goes ahead.
“US military and maritime centres will be our legitimate targets,” Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said in remarks aired on Iranian state television.
United States withdraws troops from Qatar base amid escalating Iran tensions Credit: 7NEWS
Trump has warned of “very strong action” if the Iranian regime proceeds with executions of protesters in connection with the nationwide unrest that has rocked the country.
Iranians have had no internet connection for days, but information and videos trickling out of the Islamic Republic suggest the protests were met with a brutal response not seen in decades of crackdowns against internal dissent.
At least 2,500 people have been killed since the unrest erupted last month against spiraling prices, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.
Among those arrested is Erfan Soltani, 26, whose execution is scheduled for Wednesday, according to the US State Department, Amnesty International and other human rights activists.
Trump told CBS News that “if they do such a thing” — and go ahead with Soltani’s execution — “we will take very strong action.”
“This time, the Islamic Republic regime didn’t even bother with its usual 10-minute sham trial; Erfan was sentenced to execution without any legal process or defense lawyer,” the State Department said in an X post.
A senior Iranian official called for the country to impose swift penalties to ensure order is restored.
“If we want to do a job, we should do it now. If we want to do something, we have to do it quickly,” Iran’s judiciary chief, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, said in a video shared online by Iranian state television.
“If it becomes late, two months, three months later, it doesn’t have the same effect. If we want to do something, we have to do that fast.”
Despite the communications blackout, videos geolocated by NBC News have emerged showing scores of bodies piled outside a makeshift morgue near Tehran.
Iran has acknowledged a high number of casualties, but instead claimed they are ordinary people killed by “terrorists” and “rioters.”
Iran has also accused the U.S. of engineering “unrest and chaos, serving as the modus operandi to manufacture a pretext for military intervention,” the country’s mission to the United Nations posted on X.
