Some personnel advised to leave U.S. Al Udeid base in Qatar by Wednesday evening, diplomats say

An F-22 Raptor from the 1st Fighter Wing, 27th Fighter Squadron taxis for departure deployment to Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, from Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, U.S., June 24, 2019. Kaylee Dubois/U.S. Air Force/Handout via REUTERS

DOHA, January 13, 2026 (Saudi Arabia Breaking News) – Some personnel have been advised to leave the U.S. military’s Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar by Wednesday evening, three diplomats said, amid warnings from Washington that it could intervene to protect protesters in Iran.

The U.S. embassy in Doha had no immediate comment. Qatar’s ministry of foreign affairs did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for confirmation or comment.

Al Udeid is the Middle East’s largest U.S. base and houses around 10,000 troops.

“It’s a posture change and not an ordered evacuation,” one of the diplomats said, adding no specific reason had been given for the change.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters earlier that Tehran warned regional countries it would strike U.S. military bases in case of an attack by Washington, after President Donald Trump threatened to intervene in Iran.

Last year, more than a week before the U.S. launched air strikes on Iran, some personnel and families were moved off U.S. bases in the Middle East. After the U.S. attacks in June, Iran launched a missile attack on the base in Qatar.

Source: Reuters