A partial evacuation advisory was issued for Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the U.S. military's largest base in the Middle East.
According to Reuters on the 14th (local time), some personnel at Al Udeid were advised to leave the base by that evening. A U.S. official said it was a "precaution given heightened tensions."
A European official told Reuters that "the likelihood of U.S. military intervention is high," predicting that "intervention could occur within 24 hours." An Israeli official said, "President Trump appears to have decided to intervene," while adding, "The scope and timing of the intervention are not yet clear."
Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump had hinted daily at the possibility of military intervention as Iran's large-scale anti-government protests, sparked by economic hardship, intensified.
The day before, Trump warned in a CBS interview that, in response to reports Iranian authorities would hang protest participants, "If they do that, we will take very strong action."
He also posted on his Truth Social account, "Patriots of Iran, keep protesting," adding that "helping hands are on the way."
Iran has responded to military threats from the United States and Israel by attacking U.S. bases in the Middle East. For this reason, the Al Udeid Air Base evacuation order is being interpreted as a preemptive measure in anticipation of an Iranian counterstrike.
On the same day, Majid Mousavi, commander of the Aerospace Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said, "We are at the highest level of combat readiness to respond to any attack," Reuters reported.