Iran’s missile and drone campaign has exposed major vulnerabilities in the U.S. military’s Gulf footprint, with reports claiming Washington may have “permanently lost access” to as many as 15 bases. Damage to hangars, radar systems, fuel facilities, communications nodes and other infrastructure could force the Pentagon to rethink its Middle East strategy. Trump now faces a major military dilemma: rebuild vulnerable Gulf bases and invest heavily in hardening them, or shift U.S. forces farther west and adopt a more dispersed posture. Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE and Kuwait could see changes to their roles, while Diego Garcia may become increasingly important as a backup logistics hub. But moving American forces farther from Iran could dramatically increase transit times, fuel requirements, tanker demand and overall logistics costs. Is the Iran war forcing the U.S. to redraw its military map of the Gulf?
E-Paper
