Latest news with #AlUdeidAirBase
Reuters
3 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
US moves some military assets in Middle East vulnerable to Iranian attack, officials say
WASHINGTON, June 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. military has moved some aircraft and ships from bases in the Middle East that may be vulnerable to any potential Iranian attack, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday. The officials, who were speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the move was a part of planning to protect U.S. forces. They declined to say how many aircraft or ships had been moved and where they would be going. One of the officials said U.S. naval vessels had been moved from a port in Bahrain, where the military's 5th fleet is located, while aircraft that were not in hardened shelters had been moved from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. "It is not an uncommon practice. Force protection is the priority," the official said. Reuters was first to report this week the movement of a large number of tanker aircraft to Europe and other military assets to the Middle East, including the deployment of more fighter jets. An aircraft carrier in the Indo-Pacific is also heading to the Middle East. It comes as President Donald Trump kept the world guessing whether the U.S. will join Israel's bombardment of Iranian nuclear and missile sites, as residents of Iran's capital streamed out of the city on the sixth day of the air assault. Israel launched an air war on Friday after saying it had concluded Iran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons. Iran has conveyed to Washington that it will respond firmly to the United States if it becomes directly involved in Israel's military campaign, the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva said on Wednesday.
Asharq Al-Awsat
16-05-2025
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Trump Visits Al Udeid, Says Qatar Will Invest $10 Billion in Air Base
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Qatar will invest $10 billion in the coming years in the Al Udeid Air Base southwest of Doha, the largest US military facility in the Middle East. Speaking at a meeting with business leaders in Qatar, Trump said his trip through the Gulf region could generate $4 trillion. 'This is a record tour. There's never been a tour that will raise—it could be a total of $3.5, $4 trillion. Just in this four or five days,' he said. He described his visits to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the Emirates as a historic trip. Later during a visit to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar on Thursday, where he spoke to American troops, Trump said, 'We almost lost the Middle East because of the policies of the Joe Biden administration. But we're going to protect the Middle East.' On the nuclear file, Trump revealed that the United States is 'very close to making a deal with Iran,' stating that Tehran has 'somewhat agreed to the terms' of a long-term agreement. He added, 'We want to deal with the Iran problem in a smart way — but not violently.' On the situation in Yemen, Trump said the US is prepared to return to military operations against the Houthis if provoked. 'We're dealing with the Houthis, and I think that's been very successful. But maybe an attack will be launched tomorrow — in which case, we'll go back to the offensive,' he said. Trump then praised US troops stationed at the Al Udeid Air Base in Doha. 'You are the greatest fighting force in the history of the world. We have the strongest military in the world,' he said. Trump also touted plans for advanced US warplanes — including the Boeing F-47 announced in March as an update on the F-22 and named in honor of both the incumbent 47th president and the founding year of the Air Force. 'We're going to do an F-55 and I think if we get the right price, we have to get the right price, and that'll be two engines and a super upgrade on the F-35,' Trump said. The US President also commented on his meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh. 'I didn't know Syria had been under sanctions for this long,' Trump said.
LBCI
15-05-2025
- Business
- LBCI
Trump says Qatar will invest $10 billion in Al Udeid Air Base
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Qatar will invest $10 billion in the coming years in the Al Udeid Air Base southwest of Doha, the largest U.S. military facility in the Middle East. Reuters
Al Arabiya
15-05-2025
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Trump says Qatar will invest $10 billion in US airbase
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Qatar will invest $10 billion in coming years in the Al Udeid Air Base southwest of the country's capital Doha, the largest US military facility in the Middle East. In a speech to US troops at the base during his tour of the Gulf, Trump also said Qatari defense purchases signed on Wednesday are worth $42 billion. Trump will later head to the United Arab Emirates. With Reuters
Daily Mail
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Trump reveals his real reason for looking at serving a third term in speech to troops in Qatar
President Donald Trump again teased running for a third term during a speech to U.S. servicemembers at the country's largest base in the Middle East. Trump appeared at the Al Udeid Air Base located outside of Doha in Qatar on Thursday, as part of this three-country tour of the region. Before an audience of more than 1,000, Trump again pushed that he had won the 2020 election. 'We won three elections, OK? And some people want us to do a fourth. I don't know. I'll have to think about it,' the president said. He then revealed the real reason he kept bringing it up. 'The hottest hat is, it says "Trump 2028." We're driving the left crazy when you see that,' Trump said. The Constitution says that a president can't serve more than two terms - an amendment that was added after Democratic President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected four times. Democratic critics have used Trump's third term chatter to say that he's trying to defy the Constitution. While the president is touring three countries in the Middle East - Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates - he's continued to talk domestic politics like he was at home. Earlier Thursday he made a jab at former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who ran for the White House in the Democratic primary in 2020 - and could possibly launch another bid. 'Can you believe it? He's running the biggest air system in the world, and he takes a bicycle to work, what a - and they say he's going to run for president,' Trump scoffed at a breakfast in Doha with business leaders. 'I don't see it. Who knows but I don't see it.' If elected, Buttigieg, 43, would be the first openly gay U.S. president. The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana visited Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Wednesday sparking speculation he'll run for the White House in 2028. During the visit, Buttigieg spanked Trump and his MAGA-filled administration. 'There is a parade of horribles emanating from this White House,' the ex-Transporation secretary said. 'The American people bow to no king.' Buttigieg also recalled the last time he spent time in the Hawkeye State, 'I was sort of winning the Iowa caucus.' During the 2020 caucus the app the Democrats were using to tabulate the results crashed and the winner wasn't known immediately. It was eventually determined that Buttigieg had won the caucus as its traditionally held, but progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders also called it a win due to earning the most pure votes. During President Joe Biden's leadership of the party, the Democratic primaries were reordered with Iowa losing its first-place caucus and South Carolina going first.
