Iranian strikes push US to rethink overseas bases in Europe and Gulf

The United States has begun removing aircraft from key bases in the United Kingdom and the Gulf following a wave of Iranian attacks that have turned those sites into potential liabilities, Al Jazeera reported.

Why are US forces being pulled from RAF Fairford and other bases?

The withdrawal began in October when the US took all 12 B‑1 Lancer bombers off the Gloucestershire airfield after British security arrests and a government accusation that Iran was behind a plot to target the base, a charge Tehran denied. Al Jazeera added that a dozen aircraft were also withdrawn from RAF Mildenhall earlier this month, and that in July the Pentagon moved many Gulf assets to Jordan while weighing a shift to Israel.

How have Iranian attacks damaged US installations?

A Pentagon watchdog report released in September documented Iranian strikes that damaged or destroyed hundreds of structures across US sites in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and Jordan during the first four months of the war. At Prince Sultan airbase in Saudi Arabia at least five KC‑135 refuelling tankers were hit, and an airborne early‑warning aircraft was damaged on the ground. Iranian drones also hit a hangar at a British base in Cyprus used for US logistics, and damaged radar at Qatar’s Al Udeid airbase, the headquarters of CENTCOM’s air operations. Al Jazeera noted that attacks on the Port of Shuaiba killed six US service members and that Iranian missiles damaged facilities at Ali Al Salem airbase and Camp Buehring.

What does this mean for US allies in Europe and the Gulf?

Analysts quoted by Al Jazeera say the growing vulnerability forces host nations to reassess the security umbrella the US provides. Simon Mabon of Lancaster University warned that the “US security umbrella is becoming a double‑edged sword,” while Middle‑East analyst Mohammad Ali Shabani observed that Gulf states are increasingly uneasy about hosting forces they did not invite to war. The United Kingdom, Bulgaria and other partners have already begun moving US tankers out of their territories, reflecting a shift in risk calculations.

The pattern of drone‑enabled strikes and the ease of producing cheap missiles have made large overseas bases easier targets, prompting Washington to consider relying more on Israel as a forward hub, Al Jazeera said.