US attacks on Iran nuclear sites: Where are the US military bases in the Middle East?

Should Iran choose to retaliate, it may target the US military installations in the region. Here are some of the US military bases in the Middle East.

US military bases

According to a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report from July 2024, the US Department of Defense (DOD) manages or operates at least 128 overseas bases in at least 51 countries. These bases were identified as

* persistent bases, which include overseas sites continuously used by the DoD for at least 15 years and at which the U.S. military exercises some degree of operational control

* selected other US military sites, which do not meet either or both of the criteria described above, but the DOD maintains “some sort of territorially linked presence or access”.

Temporary military sites where the DOD may conduct military exercises or contingency operations, without intent to convert the location into persistent sites, were excluded from this report.

According to the CRS report, the Middle East bases operate under the US Central Command or CENTCOM. The CRS identified eight persistent bases and 11 other military sites that the DOD can access in the Middle East. CENTCOM directs military operations in territories ranging from Egypt to Kazakhstan. It is headquartered in Florida and operates a forward headquarters at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, its largest military installation in the Middle East.

US Overseas bases in the Middle East (Congressional Research Service, July 2024)

According to the report, the CENTCOM commander identified three “lines of effort” for his command in March 2024, chief of which was deterring Iran. (The other two goals are “countering violent extremist organizations, and competing strategically [i.e., with Russia and China].”)

Qatar

Qatar is home to the sprawling 24-hectare Al Udeid Air Base, CENTCOM’s forward headquarters, situated in the desert outside the capital Doha. The base houses around 10,000 troops, Reuters reported. According to the CRS report, Qatar has contributed over $8 billion since 2003 to develop the air base, and recently extended the agreement allowing the US to use the air base for another ten years.

The air base is home to surveillance aircraft, tanker refuelling (KC-135 Stratotankers), combat airlift (C-17A Globemasters, CH-130H Hercules), Patriot missile defence systems, and AN/TPY-2 X-band radar to support missile defence systems, according to the CRS report.

According to the CRS report, Camp As Sayliyah, a former army base, has also been used by the US as a government processing centre for Afghans seeking resettlement since 2022.

The CRS report estimated that 8,000 to 10,000 US personnel were present in Qatar at any given time based on media reports.

Bahrain

The US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, whose area of responsibility includes the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean, is stationed in the kingdom’s Naval Support Activity installation. This association dates back to 1948 when the base was controlled by the British Royal Navy, the CRS report said.

Bahrain’s deep-water port is one of the few Middle Eastern facilities accommodating US aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, according to the CRS report. The Navy ships include four mine countermeasures ships (MCMs), one Expeditionary Support Base (ESB) ship, and two logistical support ships operated by the Military Sealift Command (MSC). The site is also home to P-8 Poseidon (an American maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft), EP-3E Aries II reconnaissance aircraft, and Patriot missile defence systems.

The report mentions that the US Coast Guard also maintains a squadron of ships, including six fast response cutters, in Bahrain.

The CRS reported that 9,000 service members and DOD civilians are present at the site

Kuwait

Kuwait houses several US military installations, notably Camp Arifjan, the forward headquarters of US Army Central (ARCENT) under CENTCOM, according to the CRS report.

The Ali al-Salem Air Base hosts the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing, described in the CRS report as “the primary airlift hub and gateway for delivering combat power to joint and coalition forces in the U.S. Central Command [AOR].” US Air Force (USAF) capabilities in Kuwait include unmanned surveillance aircraft (including MQ-9 drones), as well as combat airlift capabilities, the report said.

The largest US air logistics facility in the region is at the Kuwait International Airport, according to the CRS report.

Camp Buehring, established during the 2003 Iraq war, serves as a staging post for US Army units deploying into Iraq and Syria, the US Army website says.

United Arab Emirates (UAE)

The Al Dhafra Air Base, south of the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, hosts the US’s 380th Air Expeditionary Wing, which comprises 10 aircraft squadrons and drones, such as the MQ-9 Reapers. It is shared with the UAE Air Force and serves as a critical USAF hub, according to the CRS report.

The UAE hosts airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft, ISR aircraft, and tanker refuelling aircraft. Al Dhafra hosts the Gulf Air Warfare Center, which offers region-specific training for about 2,000 participants annually. Al Dhafra also routinely hosts rotations of combat aircraft units.

Jebel Ali port in Dubai, as well as other ports in the UAE, also host Navy ships and provide logistical support to the US.

Iraq

The US has troops spread across several Iraqi installations, including the Al-Asad and Erbil air bases, the Agence France-Presse reported. Up to 2,500 American troops and military contractors were based in Baghdad, the northern Kurdish region and the western desert, as part of an international coalition battling the Islamic State, according to the AFP.

While the US occupation of Iraq formally ended in 2011, American troops returned to fight Islamic State militants who had seized control of Iraqi territory in the north and west, The New York Times reported.

The US presence in the Al Asad Air Base supports Iraqi forces and contributes to the NATO mission, according to the White House. The base was targeted in 2020 by Iranian missile strikes in retaliation for the killing of Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani in Iraq.

The Erbil air base, situated in the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq, hosts training exercises and battle drills hosted by the US and coalition forces, the report said. The air base provides a secure location for training, intelligence sharing, and logistical coordination in northern Iraq, according to the CRS report.

According to the CRS report, US military capabilities in the country include AH-64E Apache helicopters, MH-47G Chinook helicopters, MH-60M Black Hawk helicopters, and unmanned surveillance aircraft.

Saudi Arabia

The Prince Sultan Air Base in the kingdom hosts the 378th Air Expeditionary Wing, a USAF unit that “supports approximately 2,200 airmen and soldiers assigned to PSAB, as well as the U.S. Army’s Patriot missile defense capability and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) capability in the region”, according to the CRS report. The base supports military assets, including tanker refuelling aircraft, and hosts rotational deployments of combat aircraft.

The White House in June 2024 said that over 2,300 US military personnel were stationed in the kingdom, with the majority at the air base. These personnel work in coordination with the Saudi government and support US military operations.

Other nations

* Egypt: American military presence in Egypt comprises its support to the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO), an international peacekeeping force intended to “supervise the implementation of the security provisions of the Egyptian-Israeli Treaty of Peace and employ best efforts to prevent any violation of its terms.” The US periodically participates in joint training and exercises with the Egyptian military, including at its Cairo West air base.

* Syria: The US presence in Syria dates back to its military action as part of an international coalition against the Islamic State. The US military presence in Syria includes the Al Tanf base and various facilities in northeastern Syria. In April, the Pentagon announced a plan to halve its military presence in the country to less than 1,000 in the coming months as part of a “consolidation” of US troops in the country, the AFP reported.

* Jordan: The Muwaffaq al Salti air base, situated 100 km northeast of the capital Amman, hosts the USAF Central’s 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, which has hosted F-35s since 2023, according to the CRS report. A site called Tower 22, located near the Iraq and Syria border and close to Al Tanf in Syria, hosts about 350 US military personnel, CENTCOM reported in January 2024. The CRS report noted that 3,188 military personnel were stationed in Jordan, according to a December 2023 letter submitted by the Biden Administration to congressional leaders regarding the War Powers Report.

* Israel: The US does not have a military base in Israel but engages in periodic joint exercises with the Israeli military to ‘foster interoperability’, the CRS report said.

* Yemen: According to a submission by the Biden administration in December 2023, “a small number” of U.S. military personnel “are deployed to Yemen to conduct operations against al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula and ISIS.”