The U.S. has about 40,000 military personnel in the Middle East. The base in Qatar currently houses thousands of U.S. troops. It had about 10,000 at the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Iran targeted the U.S. military's largest Middle East air base with a missile attack on Monday, June 23, an apparent response to U.S. strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities days earlier.

Trump’s announcement came soon after Iran launched a limited missile attack on a U.S. military base in Qatar, retaliating for the American bombing of nuclear sites.

Qatar, which saw the United States as its main protector in the Middle East, finished building the base in 1996, hoping to encourage the deployment of the U.S. military there.

Iran retaliated Monday for the U.S. attacks on its nuclear sites by targeting Al Udeid Air Base, a sprawling desert facility in Qatar that serves as a main regional military hub for American forces.

Al Udeid stands as the largest American military installation in the Middle East, with two 12,000-feet runways stretching into the Qatari desert and nearly 8,000 US troops being stationed at the base.

Airlines diverted more flights in the Middle East on Monday after Iran’s armed forces said the country launched a missile strike on a U.S. military base in Qatar, exacerbating the region’s ...

The base, which is owned by Qatar and located 20 miles southwest of the capital, Doha, is a forward command post for U.S. Central Command, the military combatant command with overall ...