Washington, 21 October. The US military has in recent days been gradually scaling back its presence at bases across the Middle East, and the State Department has ordered staff cuts at several more diplomatic missions in the region, NBC News reported, citing two US officials.
According to NBC, the drawdown of troops and diplomats resembles the one the Pentagon and the State Department carried out at the start of the war with Iran in February and is a response to ongoing threats in the region, including from Iran. Those being moved include troops from bases in Jordan as well as in Qatar and Kuwait; heads of several diplomatic missions were notified on Wednesday that they would operate with reduced staff. Officially, a few hours before the NBC report, the State Department announced the ordered departure of non-emergency employees and their family members from Saudi Arabia; earlier still, Reuters had reported that the State Department was preparing such departures from embassies in the Gulf states. According to NBC, US President Donald Trump is considering a new military operation against Iran.
In the evening, Iranian state media reported several explosions near the Strait of Hormuz in the south of the country; there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, and the cause of the blasts remained unclear. Israel's Channel 12 reported that dozens of Israeli fighter jets flew close to the Iranian border through the airspace of Syria and Iraq; according to the channel's US sources, the manoeuvre may have been an attempt to provoke Iranian fire and justify a possible Israeli strike.
A senior Iranian security official warned that in a new war, if Iranian officials or civilians are killed, Iran will regard US political assets and infrastructure in countries that join the war as legitimate targets; this was reported by a semi-official Iranian outlet. On the same day Trump said the US was working with Russia and China on settling the conflict with Iran: in his words, both countries want the war to end, and the US is working on it with Russia, with China also involved.
What it means: The US is repeating the February scenario: some troops are leaving bases in the region, embassies are moving to reduced staffing, and Trump, according to NBC, is weighing a new operation against Iran. Publicly, Washington is talking about a settlement together with Russia and China.
Who benefits: According to NBC, the drawdown is a response to threats in the region, including from Iran — a safety measure for US troops and diplomats. Iran, meanwhile, is naming targets in advance in case of a new war; the sources do not name anyone who benefits.
Background: On the morning of 21 October, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the US had accepted Iran's "seven-day plan" but was asking for it to be supplemented.
List of sources used: TASS, Political Wire, Israel National News, investingLive, Militarist, Anadolu
Artificial intelligence was used in preparing this material.
