Some personnel at the US military’s Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar have been advised to leave by Wednesday evening, as tensions rise between Washington and Tehran.
The diplomats said the move involves a limited number of personnel and should not be seen as a full evacuation. One diplomat described it as a posture change rather than an ordered withdrawal, adding that no specific reason had been communicated for the decision.
Al Udeid is the largest US military base in the Middle East and hosts around 10,000 troops. The US embassy in Doha had no immediate comment on the development.
The reported movement comes amid escalating rhetoric over Iran, after the United States warned it could intervene to protect protesters there. Earlier, a senior Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran had warned countries in the region it would strike US military bases if Washington carried out an attack on Iran. The warning followed comments by President Donald Trump threatening possible intervention.
This is not the first time US personnel have been repositioned in the region during periods of heightened tension. Last year, more than a week before the United States carried out air strikes on Iran, some US personnel and their families were moved out of bases across the Middle East as a precautionary measure.
After the US attacks in June, Iran responded by launching a missile strike on the Al Udeid base in Qatar.