Where are US military bases in the Middle East? Iran's strike on US base in Qatar sparks renewed focus
The United States maintains a significant and strategic presence in the Middle East, with bases serving as aerial hubs, naval ports, logistics centers, and regional command posts.
Here's a detailed overview of US military bases in the Middle East, and their strategic importance.
Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar: The region's largest and a major base for approximately 8,000–10,000 personnel, including the forward Combined Air Operations Center for CENTCOM operations in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan
Naval Support Activity, Bahrain: Home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, hosting around 9,000 staff, crucial for securing supply routes in the Gulf, Red Sea, and Indian Ocean
Camp Arifjan, Kuwait: A major logistics hub supporting U.S. forces across the region with prepositioned equipment and supply facilities
Al Dhafra Air Base, UAE, Camp Buehring & Ahmad al-Jabir Air Base, Kuwait, Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, and Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia—all host US personnel and aircraft, contributing to deterrence and readiness
Jordan: Multiple smaller bases for training and surveillance
Iraq & Syria: Dotted with special operations outposts supporting anti-ISIS missions
Oman & Qatar: Use of port facilities for naval logistics
In total, about 30,000 US troops are stationed across these installations, supported by forces in Iraq, Syria, Jordan, and maritime units in the region
On June 23, Iran launched a missile strike on Al Udeid Air Base—headquarters of US Central Command—framing it as a 'mighty and successful response' to US strikes on its nuclear facilities. Al Udeid is just 120 miles from Iran across the Gulf.
This marks a significant escalation: for the first time in this latest round of tit-for-tat strikes, Iran directly targeted a facility central to American military command in the region.
The US presence in the Middle East is under renewed threat following:
June 22: US stealth bombers struck Iran's nuclear sites (Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan)
June 23: Iran retaliated by targeting Al Udeid Air Base, escalating the risk of wider war
Regional fallout: Qatar and Bahrain implemented emergency protocols; US allies fear becoming collateral
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Indian Express
24 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Iran says missile strikes on US air base in Qatar were self-defence, not aimed at Doha
Iran has defended its missile strikes on the US military base at Al-Udeid in Qatar, calling the attack an act of self-defence carried out under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. The statement comes amid growing regional tension following US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities on June 22. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said the strikes were a direct response to what Tehran called 'unprovoked aggression against Iran's territorial integrity and national sovereignty' by the United States. Baqaei was clear to distinguish that the attack was not directed at Qatar itself. 'Iran's military strikes on the American military base 'Al-Udeid' were in exercise of our self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter… This act of self-defence had nothing to do with our friendly neighbour Qatar, as we enjoy excellent and deeply rooted relationships,' Baqaei said in a post on X. He reiterated Iran's commitment to maintaining peaceful relations with Qatar and other nations in the Gulf region, saying: 'We resolve not to let US/Israeli criminal aggressions and malign policies against Iran create division between us and the brotherly countries of the region.' The missile attack on Al-Udeid, the largest US military base in the Middle East, came days after American strikes on three of Iran's key nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. According to Reuters, Iran launched multiple missiles at US military installations in both Qatar and Iraq. In response, US President Donald Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social to downplay the scale and effectiveness of the Iranian retaliation. 'Iran has officially responded to our obliteration of their nuclear facilities with a very weak response, which we expected, and have very effectively countered,' Trump wrote. 'There have been 14 missiles fired — 13 were knocked down, and 1 was 'set free' because it was headed in a non-threatening direction. I am pleased to report that NO Americans were harmed, and hardly any damage was done.' He added, 'Most importantly, they've gotten it all out of their system… I want to thank Iran for giving us early notice, which made it possible for no lives to be lost and nobody to be injured.'
Economic Times
30 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Emergency made part of school syllabus during UPA rule, 3 decades after imposition
Getty Images Representational Image It took three decades for the Emergency imposed by then-prime minister Indira Gandhi, a 21-month period marked by censorship and mass arrests of opposition leaders, to make an entry into NCERT political science textbooks. Curiously, it happened under the Congress-led UPA rule in 2007. While there are still complaints that school textbooks are yet to reflect the full excesses of the Emergency, several passages about the dark period got pruned as late as 2023 under the BJP as part of a curriculum rationalisation exercise following the COVID-19 to Krishna Kumar, former NCERT chairman, the Emergency was introduced in class 12 political science textbooks in 2007 after the revision of the National Curriculum Framework (NCF).He, however, did not elaborate on the process of introducing the subject into the curriculum. In the textbook published in 2007, 25 pages of a chapter, "the crisis of democratic order", detailed the nature of the crisis, the argument behind it, the supporters and the opponents, and how the Emergency shaped the politics of the Emergency and anti-Sikh riots were included in the textbooks despite the Congress government being in power as academia was fully autonomous then, said Anita Rampal, who was the chairperson of some committees constituted by the NCERT for the development of textbooks. "The textbook advisors had met then HRD Minister Arjun Singh to let him know what was being incorporated into textbooks and there was absolutely no government interference. "NCERT or for that matter academics was fully autonomous then. The fact that Emergency or anti-Sikh riots could be included in the curriculum that too with cartoons critical of Indira Gandhi... it is unthinkable in today's time," Rampal, also a former Dean of Delhi University's Faculty of Education, told PTI. The chapter included excerpts from Indira Gandhi's speech to the nation on All India Radio, critical cartoons by RK Laxman, details of the Shah Commission report on the excesses of the period, several newspaper clippings about the announcement of Emergency and subsequent defeat of the Congress in Lok Sabha polls, Amul's tongue-in-cheek take on forced sterilisation, clippings on power shutdown that stopped newspapers from printing and Telegram messages reflecting attempts to censor the press. Some of the news clippings read: "State of Emergency declared", "State of security in peril, says PM", "Several leaders arrested" and "Rights suspended". Another set of news clippings highlighted the end of the Emergency: "Mrs Gandhi defeated", "Cong rout in total", and "Nightmare is over, says Vajpayee". The Amul cartoon strip showed the Amul girl dressed up as a nurse with butter brick on her tray saying "We have always practised compulsory sterilisation". A satirical cartoon included in the textbook shows a man lying on the floor marked as Congress, while with the "common man" stood leaders who opposed the Emergency such as Jagjivan Ram, Morarji Desai, Charan Singh and Atal Behari Vajpayee. Other cartoons on factional fights within the Janata Party and Indira Gandhi's confrontation with the Shah Commission were also included. The preface of the political science earlier said it was a "tribute to the maturity of Indian democracy". Political scientist and Swaraj India President Yogendra Yadav, who was a member of the drafting panel then, noted that prior to 2007, political school textbooks were limited to India's Independence, leaving students to understand 21st-century politics without any knowledge of the events that took place in the latter half of the 20th century. "Introduction of Emergency in school textbooks was no oversight, it was consciously done because the idea was to produce totally non-partisan textbooks so sordid details about the Emergency period were mentioned in a factual manner, without wondering that it was embarrassing for the Congress government," he told PTI. "You cannot teach political science to students sidestepping the major events, which had a significant influence on society and polity, no matter whether controversial or not. The books only mentioned established facts taken from government sources, which cannot be disputed by anybody," he added. Yadav and political scientist Suhas Palshikar had opposed the latest revisions in NCERT textbooks in 2023, which were also criticised by opposition parties. They wrote to the NCERT objecting to the new textbooks carrying their names and disassociated themselves from the revisions. This was the first time the two political scientists stood against the NCERT. In 2012 under the UPA rule, Yadav and Palshikar resigned from the drafting panel in the wake of a row over a cartoon of B R Ambedkar in school textbooks. In the recent rationalisation exercise in 2023, at least five pages from that chapter have been pruned. The deleted content pertains to paras on controversies surrounding the decision to impose the Emergency, and the abuse of power and malpractices committed by the Indira Gandhi government. While some of the cartoons have been truncated in size, box items on the Shah Commission's report, Indira Gandhi's address to the nation, the Naxalite movement and the custodial death of a student during the period have been dropped. In 2018, the then-HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar alleged that the textbooks did not reflect the "whole story" of the Emergency in school curricula for students to understand the reality of the time."In our textbooks, there are some chapters and columns on the Emergency that will be reviewed and this black chapter and assault on democracy of the country will figure some more in the books..." "We will include the whole story of Emergency in the curriculum. Children should know the reality of that time. That is why the Emergency period is considered to be the second freedom struggle," he said. The Emergency was imposed 50 years ago on June 25, 1975, following a period of political unrest and a court verdict that declared Gandhi's election null and void.
Time of India
31 minutes ago
- Time of India
Emergency made part of school syllabus during UPA rule, 3 decades after imposition
It took three decades for the Emergency imposed by then-prime minister Indira Gandhi, a 21-month period marked by censorship and mass arrests of opposition leaders, to make an entry into NCERT political science textbooks . Curiously, it happened under the Congress-led UPA rule in 2007. While there are still complaints that school textbooks are yet to reflect the full excesses of the Emergency, several passages about the dark period got pruned as late as 2023 under the BJP as part of a curriculum rationalisation exercise following the COVID-19 pandemic. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Play War Thunder now for free War Thunder Play Now Undo According to Krishna Kumar, former NCERT chairman, the Emergency was introduced in class 12 political science textbooks in 2007 after the revision of the National Curriculum Framework (NCF). He, however, did not elaborate on the process of introducing the subject into the curriculum. Live Events In the textbook published in 2007, 25 pages of a chapter, "the crisis of democratic order", detailed the nature of the crisis, the argument behind it, the supporters and the opponents, and how the Emergency shaped the politics of the time. The Emergency and anti-Sikh riots were included in the textbooks despite the Congress government being in power as academia was fully autonomous then, said Anita Rampal, who was the chairperson of some committees constituted by the NCERT for the development of textbooks. "The textbook advisors had met then HRD Minister Arjun Singh to let him know what was being incorporated into textbooks and there was absolutely no government interference. "NCERT or for that matter academics was fully autonomous then. The fact that Emergency or anti-Sikh riots could be included in the curriculum that too with cartoons critical of Indira Gandhi... it is unthinkable in today's time," Rampal, also a former Dean of Delhi University's Faculty of Education, told PTI. The chapter included excerpts from Indira Gandhi's speech to the nation on All India Radio, critical cartoons by RK Laxman , details of the Shah Commission report on the excesses of the period, several newspaper clippings about the announcement of Emergency and subsequent defeat of the Congress in Lok Sabha polls, Amul's tongue-in-cheek take on forced sterilisation, clippings on power shutdown that stopped newspapers from printing and Telegram messages reflecting attempts to censor the press. Some of the news clippings read: "State of Emergency declared", "State of security in peril, says PM", "Several leaders arrested" and "Rights suspended". Another set of news clippings highlighted the end of the Emergency: "Mrs Gandhi defeated", "Cong rout in total", and "Nightmare is over, says Vajpayee". The Amul cartoon strip showed the Amul girl dressed up as a nurse with butter brick on her tray saying "We have always practised compulsory sterilisation". A satirical cartoon included in the textbook shows a man lying on the floor marked as Congress, while with the "common man" stood leaders who opposed the Emergency such as Jagjivan Ram, Morarji Desai, Charan Singh and Atal Behari Vajpayee. Other cartoons on factional fights within the Janata Party and Indira Gandhi's confrontation with the Shah Commission were also included. The preface of the political science earlier said it was a "tribute to the maturity of Indian democracy". Political scientist and Swaraj India President Yogendra Yadav, who was a member of the drafting panel then, noted that prior to 2007, political school textbooks were limited to India's Independence, leaving students to understand 21st-century politics without any knowledge of the events that took place in the latter half of the 20th century. "Introduction of Emergency in school textbooks was no oversight, it was consciously done because the idea was to produce totally non-partisan textbooks so sordid details about the Emergency period were mentioned in a factual manner, without wondering that it was embarrassing for the Congress government," he told PTI. "You cannot teach political science to students sidestepping the major events, which had a significant influence on society and polity, no matter whether controversial or not. The books only mentioned established facts taken from government sources, which cannot be disputed by anybody," he added. Yadav and political scientist Suhas Palshikar had opposed the latest revisions in NCERT textbooks in 2023, which were also criticised by opposition parties. They wrote to the NCERT objecting to the new textbooks carrying their names and disassociated themselves from the revisions. This was the first time the two political scientists stood against the NCERT. In 2012 under the UPA rule, Yadav and Palshikar resigned from the drafting panel in the wake of a row over a cartoon of B R Ambedkar in school textbooks. In the recent rationalisation exercise in 2023, at least five pages from that chapter have been pruned. The deleted content pertains to paras on controversies surrounding the decision to impose the Emergency, and the abuse of power and malpractices committed by the Indira Gandhi government. While some of the cartoons have been truncated in size, box items on the Shah Commission's report, Indira Gandhi's address to the nation, the Naxalite movement and the custodial death of a student during the period have been dropped. In 2018, the then-HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar alleged that the textbooks did not reflect the "whole story" of the Emergency in school curricula for students to understand the reality of the time. "In our textbooks, there are some chapters and columns on the Emergency that will be reviewed and this black chapter and assault on democracy of the country will figure some more in the books..." "We will include the whole story of Emergency in the curriculum. Children should know the reality of that time. That is why the Emergency period is considered to be the second freedom struggle," he said. The Emergency was imposed 50 years ago on June 25, 1975, following a period of political unrest and a court verdict that declared Gandhi's election null and void.
