Why are U.S. troops stationed in the Middle East?

The U.S. has launched airstrikes on Iraqi and Syrian targets linked to Iran following an attack on one of the many U.S. military sites across the Middle East.

Here is what we know about the U.S. military presence in the Middle East, why they are there, and to what extent the current escalation of hostilities between Washington and its opponents in the region is cause for concern:

Where are the U.S. bases in the Middle East?

The U.S. has operated bases around the Middle East for decades. At its peak, there were more than 100,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan in 2011 and over 160,000 personnel in Iraq in 2007.

While the number is far lower after withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, there are still about 30,000 U.S. troops across the region. In addition, since Israel's war on Gaza began in October, the U.S. has sent thousands of additional troops to the region, including warships.

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The largest U.S. base in the Middle East is located in Qatar, known as Al Udeid Air Base and built in 1996. Other countries where the U.S. has a military presence include Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The U.S. has roughly 900 troops in Syria, in small bases like al Omar Oil field and al-Shaddadi mostly in the northeast of the country. There is a small outpost near the county's border with Iraq and Jordan, known as the Al Tanf garrison.

There are 2,500 personnel in Iraq, spread around facilities like Union III and Ain al-Asad air base, though talks are ongoing about the future of those troops.

Why are U.S. troops stationed in the region?

U.S. troops are stationed in the Middle East for different reasons and with the exception of Syria, they are there with the permission of the country's government.

Jordan, a key U.S. ally in the region where the recent drone strike on U.S. troops took place, has hundreds of U.S. trainers and they hold extensive exercises throughout the year. In other cases, like in Qatar and the UAE, U.S. troops maintain a presence there apparently to carry out training exercises and military operations in the region.

In some countries like Iraq and Syria, the U.S. says they are there to fight against Islamic State militants and are also helping advise local forces. But they have come under heavy criticism from both civilians and armed groups opposed to any U.S. military presence in their countries, with some militias who have been linked to Iran launching attacks against U.S. targets in the last years. Although Tehran has been clear it was not involved in the recent attack on the U.S. base and say groups like the Houthis operate independently.

Many of these groups are part of the informal anti-Israeli and anti-Western political and military coalition called the Axis of Resistance, which is led by the Iranian government and includes the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, Lebanon's Hezbollah, and Yemen's Houthis, along with a swathe of smaller fighting units. Since October 7, U.S. troops have been attacked more than 160 times by such militias, injuring about 80 troops, even prior to last Sunday's attack on Jordan's Tower 22, which injured around 40 more and killed three.

Members of the Axis say that the presence of U.S. "occupation forces" in the region is first and foremost designed to protect Washington's strategic interests there, adding that the recent increase in U.S. military activity in the Middle East is aimed at lending further support for Israel and curtailing the Axis' influence.

Meanwhile, despite the ties between the militias, Iran says it has no links to the attacks on U.S. forces in the region, stressing they are related to conflict between resistance groups and the presence of U.S. military personnel, particularly due to its support for Israel's action in Gaza.

Why is the U.S. launching strikes in the region?

Tower 22, a base in Jordan at the most northeastern point where the country's borders meet Syria and Iraq, was hit in a drone attack on January 28 that killed three Army Reserve soldiers. Washington blamed the Iran-allied Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah.

Specifically, Tower 22 is near Al Tanf garrison, which is located across the border in Syria, and which houses a small number of U.S. troops. Tanf had been key in the fight against the Islamic State and has assumed a role as part of a U.S. strategy to counter what it believes is Iran's alleged military build-up in eastern Syria.

Kataib Hezbollah earlier this week announced the suspension of its military and security operations against U.S. troops "in order to prevent embarrassment to the Iraqi government," the group said in a statement. But other anti-U.S. militias have refused to curtail such attacks until Washington withdraws its troops from the region and Israel ceases its assault on Gaza.

Launching the retaliatory strikes in reaction to the first deaths of U.S. troops since the outbreak of the Gaza war, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that it was just "the start of our response," adding that the U.S. does "not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else, but the president and I will not tolerate attacks on American forces."

Iran's foreign ministry said on Saturday that the U.S. attacks were a "violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq and Syria, international law, and a clear violation of the United Nations Charter," adding that they were a "strategic error" that would only add to tensions and instability in the Middle East. 

Iraq also condemned the strikes, saying they had killed 16 people including civilians and "could lead Iraq and the region into dire consequences." In Syria, where the strikes killed 23 people who had been guarding the targeted locations, the foreign ministry said the U.S. was fueling conflict in the region in a "very dangerous way."

However, the attacks have fallen short of attacking senior military personnel from Iran - which the U.S. blames for the attacks - both inside and outside of the country, despite some U.S. Republicans demanding it. 

What has Europe's response been to the escalation?

Europe is still trying to find its feet in what is quickly becoming a wider conflict around the war on Gaza, with EU members deeply divided on the issue, especially now that the bloc's closest military ally is launching strikes in the region.

EU outlier the UK, which last month launched coordinated strikes across Yemen against Iranian-allied Houthi forces were quick to call the U.S. its "steadfast" ally after the strikes, saying it supports Washington's move to respond to the death of its troops. 

Then on Saturday the UK launched joint air strikes with the U.S. against 36 Houthi targets across 13 locations in Yemen. UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said the Houthi attacks on international shipping "must stop."

This third round of joint action comes after "repeated warnings" for the Iran-backed group to cease their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, he posted on X.

Cameron adds: "Their reckless actions are putting innocent lives at risk, threatening the freedom of navigation and destabilising the region."

As EU ministers arrived for a meeting in Brussels on Saturday, Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski said the U.S. strikes were the result of Iranian proxies "playing with fire", while Belgian's Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib took a more cautious tone: "It's a huge concern, and so we ask for restraint and we ask for dialogues and diplomacy. It's the only way that we can calm down the situation in the Middle East."

But the block is yet to offer a clear, unified position on the escalation around Gaza. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrel on Saturday stressed that the Middle East was "a boiler that can explode" which is was why the bloc's senior representatives were calling on everybody to try to avoid an escalation. "But I cannot anticipate the results of the discussion of the ministers," he added. 

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