Israel-US attack on Iran ignites wider Middle East conflict: US bases in UAE, Qatar Bahrain, Saudi become targets

Airspace has been closed across a number of countries as the war is feared to spread wider in the West Asia/Middle East region.

After the US-Israel joint attack on Iran on Saturday, emergency sirens were heard near a US military base in Qatar, while explosions were heard in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain too. In Bahrain, the government said the headquarters of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet was targeted by a missile attack.

Angry Iran Attacks US' Arab Allies: Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia Under Fire

Blasts were later heard in UAE's Dubai and Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh too, news agencies Reuters and AP reported, possibly from a nearby US military station.

"There were sounds of explosions but seemed to be from far away, probably missiles intercepted in air," said Shailja, an India resident of Doha, the capital of Qatar.

A 50-year-old mother of two daughters, she told HT over a text message, "We’re taking precautions and staying indoors. We hope to travel to India as soon as airspace opens. So far there's been no damage in our area. But we are keeping a watch and staying close together."

A witness in Abu Dhabi told Reuters that loud booms were heard across parts of Abu Dhabi, with one witness saying that she heard five booms in rapid succession that caused windows to vibrate. One person was also reportedly killed in Abu Dhabi while the UAE intercepted Iranian missiles, Reuters reported. Two AFP correspondents in Riyadh said they heard a loud bang and several explosions.

The Iranian foreign affairs ministry has said it will make its aggressors “regret their actions”, adding that US bases are its legitimate targets now.

In its first statement since the US and Israel launched their attack on the country in the morning, the ministry said: “The renewed military aggression by the United States and the Zionist regime against Iran constitutes a violation of international law and the principles of the United Nations Charter… The Iranian nation has always demonstrated patience and restraint to prevent escalation and preserve regional stability.”

Airspace has been closed across a number of countries as the war is feared to spread wider in the West Asia/Middle East region. The main targets for an Iranian retaliation could be US or Israeli military bases.

Which US bases are possible targets?

Bahrain is the headquarters of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, whose area of responsibility includes the Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean.

In Qatar, the 24-hectare Al Udeid Air Base, in the desert outside the capital Doha, is the forward headquarters for US Central Command, which directs military operations from Egypt in the west to Kazakhstan in the east. This is Middle East's largest US base and houses around 10,000 troops. It had come under Iranian attack during the US-Israel strikes on Iran in June 2025 too.

In Kuwait, there are US military installations including Camp Arifjan, a forward headquarters of US Army Central, and the Ali Al Salem Air Base, roughly 40 km from the Iraqi border and known as ‘The Rock’ because of its isolated, rugged environment. Then there is Camp Buehring, established during the 2003 Iraq War, which is a staging post for units deploying into Iraq and Syria, according to the US Army website.

In the United Arab Emirates, the Al Dhafra Air Base is situated just south of the capital Abu Dhabi. It is shared with the UAE Air Force, and is a critical US hub that has supported missions against the Islamic State terror group, as well as reconnaissance deployments across the region, according to the US Air Force Central Command.

Also in the UAE, Dubai's Jebel Ali Port, while not a formal a military base, is the US Navy's largest port of call in the Middle East that regularly hosts aircraft carriers and other vessels.

In Iraq, the US has the Ain Al Asad Air Base in the western Anbar province, supporting Iraqi security forces and contributing to the NATO mission, according to the White House.

Iranian missile strikes targeted the base in 2020, in retaliation for the US killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.

There is a base in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of northern Iraq too. The Erbil Air Base serves as a hub for US coalition forces conducting training exercises and battle drills.

Will war spill over to Saudi Arabia?

American soldiers in Saudi Arabia, which numbered 2,321 in 2024 according to a White House letter, operate in coordination with the Saudi government, providing air and missile defence capabilities and supporting the operation of US military aircraft.

Some troops are stationed roughly 60 km south of capital Riyadh, at Prince Sultan Air Base, which supports US Army assets including Patriot missile batteries and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense systems.

Mainly Sunni-Wahabi Muslim country Saudi Arabia sees itself as a mutual enemy of Shia-majority Iran.

The US presence in Jordan is on a base in Azraq, 100 km northeast of the capital Amman. The Muwaffaq al Salti Air Base hosts US Air Force Central's 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, which engages in missions across the Levant region, according to a 2024 report in the Library of Congress, as cited by news agency Reuters.