The United States keeps between 40,000 and 50,000 military personnel at more than 20 sites in the Middle East, spread along a 1,500-mile arc from Jordan to Oman. Some are big, openly acknowledged hubs. Others are small, discreet desert outposts.
Iran’s attacks in the 2026 war have knocked a hole in that network. According to a Washington Post analysis from May 2026, more than 217 structures and 11 pieces of equipment were damaged or destroyed at American bases in the region. Iran damaged at least 20 US bases, and some analysts count as many as 28.
The big hubs
Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar is the largest, with about 10,000 troops, and serves as forward headquarters for US Central Command. Kuwait hosts the biggest troop contingent, roughly 13,000 people at sites including Camp Arifjan, Camp Buehring, Ahmed Al Jaber Air Base and Ali Al Salem Air Base.
Bahrain is home to the Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquarters and its deep-water port. Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates supports Air Force and drone operations. At Prince Sultan Air Base in Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia, about 2,300 personnel work alongside integrated air defense systems, Patriot missiles among them. Jordan’s Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, in Azraq, hosts a significant air wing and expeditionary assets.
Elsewhere the footprint is lighter or less formal. There are no large permanent US combat bases in Israel, only a small classified radar and housing facility known as Site 512. A site called Site K, the Kürecik Radar Station near Malatya, exists in Turkey. Oman gives American forces access to specific airfields and ports such as Duqm under an agreement rather than a US-owned base. In Cyprus, US forces use and help fund local and British-run facilities, and in Egypt they use support sites such as Cairo West Air Base.
Damage and withdrawals
Most incoming Iranian missiles and drones were intercepted, so no base was destroyed outright. But the hits that got through did real harm. Maintenance areas, command posts and communication terminals were damaged at the Naval Support Activity in Bahrain and at Ali Al Salem in Kuwait.
The Bahrain base, the Fifth Fleet’s headquarters, was rendered inoperable. Navy secretary Hung Cao said Iran “blew the hell” out of it. US bases in Kuwait also suffered severe damage.
The Washington Post reported on August 18 that the Pentagon is weighing a smaller presence in the Persian Gulf once the war ends, rather than rebuilding the battered bases.
Troop levels are falling elsewhere too. The US withdrew fully from Syria in April 2026 and from Iraq in September 2026. It pulled out of its remaining bases in the Kurdistan Region, including sites near Erbil International Airport and Harir Air Base, ahead of a total closure planned for September 2026.
