The US military and intelligence community are quietly considering a smaller US footprint in the Middle East after months of Iranian attacks exposed vulnerabilities at American bases and killed 18 US service members, the CNN reported on Tuesday.
The discussions include reducing troops and facilities across the region and potentially declining to rebuild some bases and assets severely damaged or destroyed by Iranian strikes, the CNN’s Katie Bo Lillis and Zachary Cohen reported, citing six sources.
Officials are also examining whether sensitive military and intelligence missions can be conducted without permanent US basing.
“But the recent fighting with Iran has laid bare deep vulnerabilities in the American infrastructure in the Middle East as many of those sites have become targets of repeated Iranian attacks in an unpopular war that has killed 18 American service members,” the report read.
In offices across the military and in the intelligence community, there have been recent quiet discussions about cutting the number of people and facilities typically stationed in the Middle East if the Trump administration succeeds in ending the Iran conflict, six sources say.… pic.twitter.com/646YGZZIEi
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) September 8, 2026
The scale of the damage has raised fresh concerns about the viability of Washington’s post-9/11 military infrastructure.
US installations in Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have been repeatedly targeted by Iranian missiles and drones, with US officials acknowledging significant damage.
“The damage has been substantial, US officials say: The CIA’s outpost in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for example, was effectively destroyed by an Iranian attack, according to one US official and a former intelligence officer. Although Pentagon officials have sought to downplay the impact, American military installations in Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have all been struck by Iranian drones and missiles, and sources say the damage has been significant,” according to the CNN.
Damage recorded at US base in Kuwait. Satellite imagery shows “destruction of two housing accommodations” at Ali Al Salem. https://t.co/zXe9QWOvAu
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) September 7, 2026
An Iranian strike reportedly effectively destroyed the CIA’s outpost in Riyadh, according to a US official and a former intelligence officer cited by CNN.
The military is also considering moving some installations underground to protect remaining forces from missile and drone attacks. “The vulnerabilities were always known, but the US never acted on it with urgency,” one US official told CNN.
The discussions come as roughly 50,000 US troops and major military assets, including two aircraft carriers and more than a dozen guided-missile destroyers, remain deployed across the Middle East.
Senior Pentagon officials are privately considering reducing the US military presence in several Gulf states and shifting more of the security burden onto regional partners, according to three sources cited by CNN.
Some officials are also weighing a model in which personnel and equipment remain in the US and are deployed to the region only for specific missions.
The possibility of a broader pullback has gained urgency as the Pentagon faces the cost of repairing heavily damaged installations.
At the same time, US forces remain exposed to further Iranian attacks, with Iran continuing to target American military positions in the region. The US Navy’s top admiral said last week that American personnel would not return to Bahrain, home of the 5th Fleet, “anytime soon.”
“We’re not getting back in there anytime soon,” Adm. Daryl Caudle said. “I just want to be completely honest with that.”
Source: CNN (edited by Al-Manar English Website)