President Donald Trump salutes during a repatriation ceremony for US service members killed in Middle East operations. [AFP]
President Donald Trump salutes during a repatriation ceremony for US service members killed in Middle East operations. [AFP]

The Pentagon is considering reducing the US military footprint in the Middle East, particularly around the Persian Gulf, once the war with Iran concludes, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Washington Post reported Tuesday, citing eight officials and others with knowledge of the situation, that the Defense Department is reviewing the US military posture in the Middle East following the Iran war.

One of the central questions under review is whether to partially withdraw forces from the Persian Gulf region, where major US bases sustained significant damage from months of Iranian attacks.

The analysis is being led by the Pentagon's policy office, with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and CENTCOM also examining related issues, according to the report.

However, a senior Pentagon official said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has not yet ordered a formal review of the US military posture in the Middle East. The ongoing analysis could serve as a reference for future decisions on base reconstruction and troop deployment, the official said.

CENTCOM, which oversees US forces across the Middle East, maintains roughly 40,000 troops at more than 20 locations stretching from Jordan to Oman in peacetime.

Many of the largest and most permanent US bases in the region are concentrated in the Persian Gulf. Bahrain, a Gulf state, hosts the headquarters of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, while Kuwait and other countries host US Army and Air Force assets.

Earlier this year, the US military surged warships, fighter jets and air defense assets to the region to protect its forces and conduct military operations against Iran.

The war, however, laid bare the vulnerabilities of the US military's Gulf-heavy posture.

Before the war began in February, CENTCOM had already determined that many bases in the region were dangerously exposed to Iranian missile and drone strikes, and evacuated personnel from those installations.

Some of those measures could remain in place even after the war ends, the Post reported.

One official, without disclosing specifics about any troop repositioning, said: "Iran thinks we're in our traditional positions, but we're not."

The Post had previously reported that more than 200 US military facilities were damaged or destroyed during the conflict. The US military expended more than 1,000 air defense interceptor missiles defending its forces, raising concerns about the depletion of weapons stockpiles.

In response, the Pentagon is also weighing whether it is necessary to rebuild the damaged bases at their original scale.

CENTCOM commander Gen. Bradley Cooper is reported to favor exploring options to shift US forces in the Persian Gulf further westward.

The Post noted that Gulf allies have relied heavily on the US military for their security for decades, and any actual reduction in American forces could raise concerns about weakening deterrence against Iran in the region.

The discussions could also spark internal divisions within the administration over where to focus US security resources — pitting advocates of traditional overseas military engagement against those who argue the US should concentrate on homeland defense and deterring strategic rivals such as China.


mokiya@heraldcorp.com