Trump visited the massive base last summer to see soldiers (Picture: AFP)
The UK has evacuated embassy staff from Tehran as tensions in Iran threaten to boil over.
Donald Trump orders that personnel at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar should depart later today after Tehran issued warnings that it would target US bases in the region.
An Iranian state-run broadcast of Trump’s 2024 attempted assassination was aired on TV screens today with people brandishing signs saying: ‘this time,the bullet won’t miss’.
Some UK personnel are now also being withdrawn from the region,The I Paper reported.
The British Embassy in Tehran has also been temporarily closed and a majority of staff withdrawn from the country,officials have told Politico.
A government spokesperson said: ‘We have temporarily closed the British Embassy in Tehran,this will now operate remotely.
‘Foreign Office travel advice has now been updated to reflect this consular change.’
Al Udeid,the largest US military installation in the Middle East,houses around 10,000 troops and serves as headquarters for US Central Command.
Not all will leave,but the base last moved many troops in summer 2025 when the US struck nuclear sites in Iran.
The US official described the move at the base as a precautionary measure. Qatar said that the measures were being ‘undertaken in response to the current regional tensions’.
It comes as Trump’s national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran after its regime launched a bloody crackdown on protesters.
Demonstrations erupted from citizens across Iran, including in the capital Tehran, at the end of last month after inflation skyrocketed in the country,meaning people couldn’t afford basic goods such as cooking oil.
Citizens have since faced power blackouts,arrests and violence in by Iranian security forces. More than 2,000 peaceful protesters have been killed over the last few weeks.
Trump previously warned the US was ‘looking at some very strong options’ in a bid to stop the crackdown on the protesters. Anonymous sources told news agencies that this could include cyber-attacks and direct strikes by the US or Israel.
Dr. Anahita Motazed Rad,Associate Fellow at LSE’s Middle East Centre,told Metro many view Trump’s recent moves as preparation for a confrontation – but even limited strikes could trigger wider escalation.
She SAID: ‘Expectations have been rising among segments of Iranian society and the diaspora that U.S. rhetoric may translate into action,and they see it as a great support. Whether or not that occurs,the decisive factor remains the Iranian people themselves,who continue to bear the costs of repression and whose meaningful protection should be central to any international response.’
Tehran has warned that the US military and Israel would be ‘legitimate targets’ if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
Dr Bamo Nouri,a professor in International Relations at the University of West London,told Metro the reduction of US personnel in Qatar is a strategic and operational calculation – not a retreat.
‘US planners are acutely aware that if Iran were attacked,it would almost certainly respond,and history shows that response would most likely involve strikes on nearby US military bases rather than on the US mainland,’ he said.
‘Adjusting troop levels is therefore a precautionary move to reduce vulnerability and protect personnel in a moment of heightened risk,reflecting realism about how Iran has behaved in past confrontations rather than any loss of US commitment to the region.
‘A scenario involving significant US casualties would also undermine the “America First” approach associated with Donald Trump,particularly at a time when domestic political and economic pressures in the United States are already high,and public tolerance for costly foreign entanglements is low.’
Thousands of peaceful demonstrators have been killed by Khamenei’s forces (Picture: AFP)
Dr Katayoun Shahandeh,a lecturer at the SOAS Centre for Iranian Studies at the University of London,told Metro that most Iranians do not want foreign intervention,but at this point,it may be unavoidable.
‘The protest movement has been,from the start,insistently Iranian-led – rooted in domestic demands for dignity,justice,and political agency,’ she explained.
‘That said,the current moment is exceptional. With conservative estimates now exceeding 2,500 killed,widespread detentions,and individuals such as Erfan Soltani and others reportedly being prepared for execution,many Iranians increasingly feel that international intervention is no longer optional but necessary.
‘This is not about inviting a foreign power to “take over” the struggle but about preventing the complete annihilation of a movement that has already paid an extraordinary human cost.’
There are concerns that any escalation involving the United States would pull focus from what the protests are about – political change – and turn the focus to negotiation on nuclear capabilities,like last summer.
‘If so,Iranians risk once again finding that their struggle for systemic change is subordinated to external strategic priorities – with protester lives used as leverage rather than genuinely protected,’ Dr Shahandeh added.
‘The greater risk may be that inaction by the international community enables the regime to outlast the movement once again,rather than protecting Iranian sovereignty or stability.’
In addition to Iran,the US is focusing attention on Greenland,which Trump has claimed can only be protected from China and Russia by the US.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said Denmark and Greenland will continue the dialogue with the US despite a ‘fundamental disagreement’ about the future of the Arctic island.
‘We have decided to form a high-level working group to explore if we can find a common way forward’ Rasmussen said during a press conference following his and his Greenlandic counterpart meeting with JD Vance and Rubio.
‘The group,in our view,should focus on how to address the American security concerns,while at the same time respecting the red lines of the Kingdom of Denmark.’
The minister said the working group would meet for the first time ‘within a matter of weeks.’
Marco Rubio,JD Vance and others will meet with Danish Foreign Minister Lars Rasmussen and Greenland’s Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt (Picture: AFP)
Denmark has increased its military presence in and around Greenland,with rumours of a NATO deployment circulating today.
In a post on Truth Social today,Trump wrote: ‘Militarily,without the vast power of the United States,much of which I built during my first term,and am now bringing to a new and even higher level, Nato would not be an effective force or deterrent – not even close!
‘They know that,and so do I. NATO becomes far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the United States. Anything less than that is unacceptable.’
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