US Personnel Advised to Evacuate Qatar Military Base Amid Tensions With Iran

U.S. personnel at a military base in Qatar have been advised to evacuate the facility amid escalating tensions with nearby Iran.

In recent days, President Donald Trump has warned the Iranian government that America will intervene if the killing of protesters continues. Iran has imposed a communications blackout against citizens, cutting off online access as thousands of protesters take to streets. A CBS News report estimated that the Iranian government has killed a staggering 12,000-20,000 demonstrators.

Trump has encouraged the protesters, urging them to keep pushing back against the government and that the U.S. would soon be there to assist. He also vowed that those behind the killing “will pay a big price.”

On Wednesday, personnel at the Qatar base were advised to evacuate. That same base, as noted in a report from The Associated Press, was the target of an Iranian strike in July. The report continued:

The official, who spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive plans, described the move at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar 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.

In response, Qatar said Wednesday that such measures were being “undertaken in response to the current regional tensions.”

On CNN, Rep. Gil Cisneros (D-CA) explained how the move was merely a precaution as opposed to confirmation of an imminent attack.

“Look, it is pretty standard,” Cisneros said. “When I was at the Pentagon, when we kind of thought there was a threat — or something might happen — we would at times ask personnel to leave or, really kind of more importantly, their families to get out of the area.”

Watch above via CNN.

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