U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon. (CENTCOM)
A senior Iranian figure told regional governments that American bases would be struck if the United States acted first.
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
Officials say the United States may launch a strike on Iran within the next 24 hours, according to multiple European and Israeli assessments shared with Reuters, as Washington begins removing some personnel from regional bases amid rapidly rising tensions.
Western officials described President Donald Trump’s decision-making as already leaning toward military action, with one saying the administration’s unpredictability made it hard to judge the exact timeline, even as “all the signals are that a U.S. attack is imminent.”
Two European officials told Reuters the expectation was that a strike could occur within a day, while an Israeli official said it appeared the president had reached a decision, though the target set and scale were not yet known.
The precautionary drawdowns began Wednesday, when a U.S. official said some American personnel were being pulled from key installations across the Middle East.
The move came after a senior Iranian figure told regional governments that American bases would be struck if the United States acted first.
Qatar confirmed that reductions at Al Udeid, the largest U.S. base in the region, were taking place due to “the current regional tensions.”
Three diplomats said limited groups of personnel had been told to leave, though there were no signs of the mass evacuations that preceded Iran’s missile barrage last year.
Britain has also begun removing some of its forces from a facility in Qatar. The UK Ministry of Defence did not immediately comment.
Tehran, confronting its most severe internal unrest since the 1979 revolution, has been bracing for potential U.S. involvement as demonstrations widen and casualties mount. Iranian officials have acknowledged more than 2,000 people killed during two weeks of nationwide protests, while a rights group has put the death toll above 2,600.
The U.S. president has repeatedly vowed to support demonstrators, threatening to intervene as Iran intensifies its crackdown.
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