The map of US and NATO bases in the Middle East, here are Iran’s possible objectives in the event of escalation

Known and other secret military bases, logistical installations and soldiers in the field to train local forces: the presence of US and Western troops in the Middle East is very complex and could end up in the sights of Tehran and allied militias.

US and NATO bases, where they are located

Starting from the bases in Iraq and Syria, which have already had to deal with the reaction to the Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip unleashed in the aftermath of the October 7 massacres carried out by Hamas. In Iraq in particular, where Prime Minister Muhammad Sudani has called for the withdrawal of American troops and the Baghdad army considers their presence a “source of instability”, there have already been several dozen attacks. Most are claimed by the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq” group, which Washington says is supported by Tehran.

There are almost 2,500 American soldiers in the country, part of the anti-ISIS Coalition created in 2014. The situation is so tense that US forces hit the commander of a pro-Iranian faction in Baghdad last January.

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The last attack

The last attack in the Iraqi capital dates back to 2020: Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Quds Force, was killed in a raid. Then, in retaliation, Tehran launched several ballistic missiles at the Al-Asad base. Among other structures, the military airport of Erbil, in Iraqi Kurdistan, often ends up in the crosshairs. The Italian soldiers involved in the Prima Parthica operation (over a thousand soldiers between Iraq and Kuwait) are also located in the area, especially for the training of local forces.

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Syria

In Syria, the best-known US military base is that of al Tanf, a former prison which stands strategically on the border between Iraq and Jordan, then there are those of al Omar and al Shaddadi, in the north-east, all three already targeted by October 7. There are reportedly at least 900 soldiers deployed in Syria, officially for the training of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) who are still fighting against the government of Damascus. In the north there would then be 200 French soldiers deployed in a handful of bases: the information, however, comes mainly from Ankara, which accuses Paris of training the PKK “terrorists” on site, while officially they too train the SDF.

Jordan

In Jordan, 3 thousand US soldiers are deployed, President Emmanuel Macron has turned the spotlight on the air base in the north-eastern desert from which the fighters departed to intercept the Iranian drones in the attack on Israel. He had already done so in December, going to visit the 350 soldiers of the structure for Christmas. But the Jordanian base that causes the greatest concern is ‘Tower 22’: located on the Syrian border – it stands out a handful of kilometers from the al Tanf base – it was attacked by drones of pro-Iranian militias in January with a death toll of three soldiers Americans killed and over 40 wounded.

The other bases

The American military presence in the Middle East then unfolds with multiple bases in Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Djibouti, Oman which host over 40 thousand soldiers, to which the British must be added. But these are countries that are unlikely to end up in Tehran’s sights today, unless they want to run the risk of giving way to the regional anti-Iran Coalition evoked by Tel Aviv.