The U.S. and UK are reducing personnel at Qatar’s Al-Udeid air base as President Donald Trump weighs possible action against Iran over its violent crackdown on protesters.
Officials said the partial U.S. withdrawal is a “precautionary measure,” with some UK military personnel also being pulled. Qatar’s government said the steps reflect “current regional tensions.”
Al-Udeid is the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East, hosting around 10,000 U.S. personnel and about 100 UK staff. It remains unclear how many will leave.
A UK Ministry of Defence spokesperson declined to comment, citing operational security according to the BBC.
Reuters reports that some personnel had been advised to leave but there was no sign of a mass evacuation.
"All the signals are that a U.S. attack is imminent, but that is also how this administration behaves to keep everyone on their toes. Unpredictability is part of the strategy," a Western military official told Reuters later on Wednesday.
The move follows Trump’s warning that Iran would face “very strong action” if protesters are executed. Rights groups say more than 2,400 demonstrators have been killed in recent unrest.
Iran has warned it would retaliate against any U.S. attack. Senior adviser Ali Shamkhani said Tehran’s response capability had already been demonstrated during past confrontations.
The U.S. mission in Saudi Arabia has also urged staff and citizens to limit non-essential travel to military sites in the region.
At the White House, however, Trump suggested he was adopting a wait-and-see posture toward the crisis.
Trump told reporters that he has been told that killings in the Iranian government's crackdown on the protests were subsiding and that he believes there is currently no plan for large-scale executions.
Asked who told him that the killings had stopped, Trump described them as "very important sources on the other side."
The president did not rule out potential U.S. military action, saying "we are going to watch what the process is" before noting that his administration had received a "very good statement" from Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Wednesday "there is no plan" by Iran to hang people, when asked about the anti-government protests.
"There is no plan for hanging at all," the foreign minister told Fox News in an interview on the "Special Report with Bret Baier" show.
"Hanging is out of the question," Araqchi said.
According to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights Society, hangings are common in Iranian prisons.
The U.N. Security Council is due to meet on Iran on Thursday at the request of the United States.
The protests began in late December over economic hardship and have since evolved into one of the most serious challenges to Iran’s leadership in decades.
Ukrainian and Russian negotiators began the second round of U.S.-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, according to Ukrainian officials....
Uzbekistan is accelerating plans to expand uranium production and deepen international nuclear cooperation, positioning the sector as a pillar of long...
A landmark gathering of commercial and political minds has convened in the Kyrgyz capital, signalling a significant shift in Washington’s foreign po...
Syrian government security forces entered the Kurdish-controlled northeastern city of Qamishli on Tuesday (3 February), security sources and witnesses...
Israeli tank shelling and airstrikes killed at least 18 people, including four children, in Gaza on Wednesday, Palestinian officials said, as Israel h...
Images from Iran's Paya (Tolu 3) Earth observation satellite have been officially displayed for the first time by the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
Washington has accepted Tehran’s request to relocate planned nuclear talks, with negotiations now expected to take place in Oman on Friday (6 Februrary), Axios reported.
Armed boats tried to intercept a vessel north of Oman on Tuesday in waters near the Strait of Hormuz, where heightened military activity and U.S.–Iran tensions are fuelling maritime security concerns.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has begun a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia and Egypt, seeking to deepen political and economic cooperation as regional tensions over Gaza, Iran and wider Middle East stability dominate the agenda.
Talks with the U.S. should be pursued to secure national interests as long as "threats and unreasonable expectations" are avoided, President Masoud Pezeshkian posted on X on Tuesday (3 February).
Cuba’s Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío has denied that Havana and Washington have entered formal negotiations, countering recent assertions by U.S. President Donald Trump, while saying the island is open to dialogue under certain conditions.
Mexico said it will stop sending oil to Cuba as U.S. President Donald Trump ramped up pressure on the Caribbean nation.
Web Summit Qatar 2026 opened in Doha on Sunday, drawing tens of thousands of founders, investors, policymakers and technology leaders to what organisers describe as one of the region’s largest digital economy gatherings.
Any U.S. military strike on Iran would almost certainly trigger cross-border retaliation and could ignite a wider regional war, according to political analyst James M. Dorsey.
Ukrainian and Russian negotiators began the second round of U.S.-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, according to Ukrainian officials.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk said the search at his social media platform X offices in Paris on Tuesday by French authorities was a "political attack".
Thousands of documents linked to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have been taken down from the U.S. Justice Department’s (DOJ) website after victims and their lawyers warned that sensitive personal information had been exposed.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 4rd of February, covering the latest developments you need to know.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Tuesday (February 3) one day after the U.S. and India signed a trade deal.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment