Some personnel have been told to leave Qatar’s major US military base over “regional tensions”, Doha said on Wednesday, while Saudi Arabia’s US mission urged caution as Washington and Iran traded threats of military action.
The United States has repeatedly warned it could intervene against a deadly Iranian government crackdown on protests, while Tehran has said it would strike US military and shipping targets if attacked.
The precautions at Al Udeid, the region’s biggest US base, are “in response to the current regional tensions”, Qatar’s International Media Office said.
The base was targeted by Iranian strikes in June after the US briefly joined Israel’s war against the Islamic republic.
“Qatar continues to implement all necessary measures to safeguard the security and safety… including actions related to the protection of critical infrastructure and military facilities,” a statement said.
A diplomatic source told AFP earlier that a number of personnel were asked to leave the base by Wednesday evening. A second source confirmed the information, also on condition of anonymity.
The US embassy in Qatar declined to comment on personnel movement at Al Udeid.
In Saudi Arabia, the US embassy told staff and American citizens “to exercise increased caution and limit non-essential travel to any military installations in the region”.
– ‘Respond to any attack’ –
Meanwhile, two sources close to the government in Riyadh said Saudi Arabia had told Iran it would not let its airspace or territory be used to launch attacks.
“Saudi Arabia has informed Tehran directly that it will not be part of any military action taken against it,” a source close to the Saudi military told AFP.
A second source close to the government confirmed the message had been communicated to Tehran. The US has several military sites in the Gulf, including in Saudi Arabia.
Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned US President Donald Trump on Wednesday that the June strike on Al Udeid demonstrated “Iran’s will and capability to respond to any attack”.
After the strike, Qatari, US and Iranian officials held a series of calls that led to de-escalation and a ceasefire.
Washington has repeatedly said the US is considering air strikes on Iran to stop the deadly crackdown on protests.
Trump on Tuesday told CBS News that the US would act if Iran began hanging protesters.
Iranian authorities called the American warnings a “pretext for military intervention”.
The protests in Iran have posed one of the biggest challenges to the clerical leadership since the 1979 Islamic revolution ousted the shah.
Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights said it had confirmed at least 3,428 people killed during the crackdown.
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