Some personnel at Qatar’s Al Udeid, a key U.S. military base, have been advised to evacuate by Wednesday evening, a U.S. official said. The decision came as a senior official in Iran brought up an earlier Iranian attack there.
The official, who spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive plans, described the move at the base as a precautionary measure.
The official wouldn’t go into any further details about the move, including whether the evacuation was optional or mandatory, if it affected troops or civilian personnel, or the number of those advised to leave, citing the need for operational security.
It comes as anti-government protests in nearby Iran continue and President Donald Trump has said that he is willing to conduct military operations in the country if the government continues to retaliate against the protesters.
What to know:
Why the demonstrations started: The collapse of Iran’s rial currency has led to a widening economic crisis in Iran. The nation has been struggling with an annual inflation rate of some 40%. The protests began in late December with merchants in Tehran before spreading. While initially focused on economic issues, protesters soon began chanting anti-government statements as well. The scope of the protests: Protests have taken place across all of Iran’s 31 provinces, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. It said early Wednesday that more than 18,100 people had been arrested in the more than two weeks of protests. The group relies on an activist network inside of Iran for its reporting and has been accurate in past unrest.How AP reports on the death toll from Iran’s protests: The difficulty of tracking the death toll has been compounded by the government’s decision to cut off the internet and international calling to the country, but some information has still been getting out. AP reporting has relied on some videos, which likely have made it out of the country via Starlink satellite dishes. The AP authenticates such footage by checking it against known locations and events, as well as talking to regional experts. The AP also ensures the substance of the video is consistent with its own reporting.