Israel-Iran war: Iran can rain down hell on 400000 US soldiers due to..., Khamenei's deadly revenge plan includes...
About 40,000 US troops are currently stationed in the Middle East. (File)
Israel-Iran war: The United States ultimately joined the Israel-Iran war, using fighter jets and heavy bombers, including the B-2 stealth bombers, to launch attacks on several nuclear sites deep inside the Islamic Republic on early Sunday morning. US President Donald Trump said that US warplanes safely left the Iranian airspace after purportedly destroying the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear nuclear sites, indicating that the US intervention was designed to be a in-an-out operation, rather than a long-term intervention in the war.
However, experts believe that Trump may have miscalculated the cost of US intervention in the Israel-Iran war, especially since there are around 40,000 US soldiers stationed at US air bases across the Middle East, some as close as 300 miles from Iran. The US attack puts US troops in the Middle East a greater risk than ever before, as Iran is likely to launch attacks on US bases in retaliation to Sunday's assault. Iraqi Kataib Hezbollah threatens to attack US troops
In a statement, Kata'ib Hizballah or Kata'ib Hezbollah, an Iraqi Shia paramilitary group, considered to be one of Iran's several proxies in the region, has threatened to launch attacks on American soldiers and bases in the area, if the US intervened in the Israel-Iran war, according to Reuters.
'We are closely monitoring the movements of the American enemy's army in the region. 'If America intervenes in the war, we will act directly against its interests and bases spread across the region without hesitation,' Kataib Hezbollah Secretary-General Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi said in a statement, as per Reuters.
Kataib Hezbollah is part of a coalition of Iran-aligned groups known collectively as the 'Axis of Resistance' — an umbrella of hardline Shi'ite armed factions that have claimed more than 150 attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria since the onset of the Gaza war about 20 months ago, the report said. Key US targets for Iran Middle East
Meanwhile, apart from using his highly-effective proxies, experts fear that Iran could launch direct attacks on US interests in the Middle East, and use some of its deadliest short-range missiles, and even longer-range ones like the Khorramshahr-4 missiles– which Israel reportedly failed to intercept.
One of the key targets could be the US Central Command (CENTCOM) located at the Al Udeid Air Base, located 20 miles south of Qatari capital Doha, and barely 300 miles away from Iran. Apart from the Al Udeid Air Base, there are several US military establishments in Kuwait, which lies close to the southern tip of Iran.
The Al-Asad Air Base base in Iraq, and the Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bahrain, a US Navy base in Bahrain, could also be targeted by Iran. Additionally, Iran could also attack the Diego Garcia Airbase, one of the two critical US bomber bases in the Indo-Pacific region, even though the base is located 2300 miles away.
However, attacking US interests and bases will not be an easy task as the Pentagon has recently greatly strengthened its military presence in the region, including deploying aircraft carriers USS Nimitz and USS Carl Vinson from the South China Sea to the Middle East. US has 40,000 troops stationed in Middle East
As per a Fox News reports, there are an estimated 40,000 US soldiers and Defense Department employees in various countries across the Middle East, with Kuwait housing the largest number. Around 13,500 US soldiers are stationed at different bases across Kuwait.
The Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which serves as the forward headquarters of CENTCOM, is guarded by the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing of the US Air Force, while there are about 2500 US troops on the ground in Iraq, involved in operations against the Islamic State group.
Additionally, there are 350 US soldiers in Jordan, while Bahrain hosts headquarters of the US Naval Force Central Command, which oversees maritime operations in the Persian Gulf. In UAE, US 380th Air Wing is deployed at Al Dhafra Air Base, which houses drones and surveillance aircraft.
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