The US is considering scaling back its military presence in the Middle East as a result of the war with Iran, The Washington Post reported Tuesday, citing several officials familiar with the matter.
The Pentagon's policy office is leading the current evaluations, one source told the newspaper, adding that the Joint Staff and US Central Command (CENTCOM) are also taking part.
The issue is expected to cause a rift between hawkish members of the administration who tend to favor more intervention and the dovish, non-interventionist camp, The Washington Post cited another source as saying.
CENTCOM chief Adm. Brad Cooper has been involved in the discussions, one source said, adding that he supports discussing the relocation of Gulf troops westward.
US bases were, in some cases, evacuated before Feb. strikes
The Persian Gulf is one of the major arenas in which the Pentagon is looking at making cuts, the report cited two sources as saying. In some cases, the US is considering not rebuilding bases damaged by Iran during the recent fighting.
Many of these bases were evacuated in February before the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran, a person familiar with the details told the newspaper, saying that the bases were considered vulnerable to drone and missile attacks.
"Iran thinks we are in the traditional places," they said.
A CENTCOM spokesperson declined WaPo's request to comment on the report.
The US currently houses troops and military infrastructure in several countries in the Middle East, including Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. The US maintains temporary facilities in other countries, such as Israel.
After the launch of Operation Epic Fury, Iran responded with attacks on Gulf states that housed US troops, launching thousands of ballistic missiles and one-way drones over the course of months.
As of August, 19 American soldiers had been killed, and hundreds injured, many in strikes on these bases.
The UAE said Iran launched ballistic missiles, Iran denied
On Tuesday, the UAE warned residents of incoming ballistic missiles, later determined to have been launched by Iran. Neither struck the Gulf nation, and Iran's Foreign Ministry later rejected the report, instead suggesting that a "false-flag" attack by the US or Israel may have been behind the action.