Qatar’s missile attack on US military facilities on June 23 was the first counterattack from Iran, supported by the Pentagon since June 21, when the US attacked nuclear targets in Iran.
Ain al-Assad’s US Air Force Base in Iraq has also activated its air defense system due to concerns over a possible missile attack, military officials told Reuters.
Even as the Pentagon began to take steps to increase firepower in the Middle East and protect U.S. bases and other regional interests, Iranian missiles were reported near Qatar air force bases and bases in western Iraq.
It is estimated that the US has at least 40,000 troops stationed at bases from Bahrain to Syria. Commanders at these bases have strengthened their defenses and put them on higher alert about counter-assaute due to counter-assaute, including Iran’s ballistic missiles, drone strikes and terrorist attacks.
When US military facilities are at risk
Iran holds a number of short-range ballistic missiles that can be used to hit US bases in the Middle East. Countries with important US bases in the Middle East, vulnerable to Iranian ballistic missiles, include Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Syria and the United Arab Emirates.
Iran’s ballistic missile
US bases in neighboring countries are within reach of Iran’s short- and medium-range missile arsenals. According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Iran is a missile known to have been fired in Israel in the past.
contribution: Tom Vanden Brook and Cybere Maze Osterman
REUTERS, INSTUTER, and INSTUTE OF THE WAR and AEI The Critical Threats Project 2025, GoogleeArth, ©Mapcreator.io | ©osm.org
