'Vulnerability exposed': War on Iran will change how the US bases troops in Gulf

'Vulnerability exposed': War on Iran will change how the US bases troops in Gulf Submitted by Sean Mathews on Mon, 06/08/2026 - 15:48 Iran wants US to abandon its military bases in Gulf, yet the reality of drone warfare and military limits means US might have to downsize anyway A general view shows US Air Force C-17 Globemaster aircraft at al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar (AFP/File photo) Off In 2022, the US constructed a military base near Yanbu, on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast. Activity at the base surged during the US-Israeli war on Iran, as Iranian missiles and drones slammed into US bases closer to the Islamic Republic’s shores, current and former US officials tell Middle East Eye. “The whole point of LSA Jenkins is to support the Iran strategy by providing strategic depth beyond the immediate proximity of Iran’s shores,” Abbas Dahouk, a former US defence and army attache to Saudi Arabia, told Middle East Eye, using the acronym for the Logistical Support Area Jenkins base.