US reportedly weighs troop pullback from Gulf following damage in Iran war

The US Defense Department is considering pulling back troops from the Persian Gulf following damage to its presence there during the ongoing war with Iran, the Washington Post reports.

The war has prompted what the report calls a “once-in-a-generation chance” for the US to consider whether to maintain its bases in the Gulf, and it is considering not rebuilding them as they were before the fighting broke out in late February.

One option, according to the report, is for the US to move its troops and bases further west in the region, an area that includes Jordan and Israel. American refueler jets have been stationed in Israel throughout the war.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has not ordered a formal review of the question, but it is being explored by the Pentagon’s policy office and the US Central Command, according to the report.

Normally, about 40,000 US troops are stationed across the Middle East, according to the Post. The biggest American bases are in the Gulf, and the US has significantly increased its presence in the region during the Iran war. Gulf countries have been battered by Iranian missile fire during the war.