The Pentagon is reducing the number of troops at its bases in the Middle East due to increasing regional threats in recent days.
elchi reports that CBS News stated this, citing informed sources.
Due to the escalating conflict in Yemen, as well as direct threats from Iran, the army is privately reducing its presence at facilities in the Middle East, a U.S. government official and a high-ranking U.S. military official told the network.
Commenting on this information, Captain Tim Hawkins, spokesperson for the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), told CBS News: “We are constantly moving American troops and equipment to optimize mission readiness. For operational security reasons, we do not discuss the details of these movements.”
As the network noted, the U.S. State Department also ordered non-essential personnel of the U.S. Embassy and their families to leave Saudi Arabia after a series of Houthi attacks.
State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott wrote on social media: “The U.S. Department of State has issued a travel order from Saudi Arabia only for U.S. government employees not related to emergency situations and their dependents.”
He noted that reports from some media outlets about travel orders also applying to employees of other U.S. embassies in the Persian Gulf, including the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar, and Bahrain, are inaccurate.
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