Late one morning in March 1999, a United States B-52 bomber took off from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, headed southeast.
asserted
bomber → take → Gloucestershire
Seven more jets followed, at two-minute intervals.
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jets → follow → intervals
It was the start of the US-led NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, a campaign in which the Fairford base served as both a pivotal launchpad for American jets and as a fuel station for fighter planes.
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base → lead → planes
The British base had served a similar role during the Gulf War in 1991, and would do so again during the 2003 Iraq war and in the early stages of the US-Israeli war on Iran that began on February 28, 2026.
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that → serve → February
But in October, the US pulled all 12 of its B-1 Lancer bombers from the Gloucestershire base, amid fears that they were no longer safe there from a growing Iranian threat.
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they → pull → threat
Days earlier, British security forces had made several arrests, and the country’s government has accused Iran of being behind a plot to target the base — a charge Tehran has denied.
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Tehran → make → base
Earlier this month, the US withdrew a dozen planes from another British base, RAF Mildenhall.
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US → withdraw → base
And in July, reports said that the US had relocated many of its military assets from its bases in the Gulf that were badly hit by Iran during the war, instead moving them to bases in Jordan, while also considering a proposal to shift them to Israel.
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that → say → Israel
For decades, these bases have served as the sharp edge of the US military’s ability to project power and wage wars thousands of miles from home.
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bases → serve → home
For close allies, whether in Europe or the Gulf, they also worked as security guarantors against other threats.
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they → work → threats
But Iran’s ability to severely damage US facilities in the Middle East during the war, and pose a threat as far as the UK, has for the first time turned these critical strategic assets into potential liabilities, both for American allies and for the US itself, say analysts.
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analysts → damage → US
“The US security umbrella is becoming a double-edged sword,” Simon Mabon, a professor of international politics at Lancaster University, told Al Jazeera.
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Mabon → become → Jazeera
“When the security of US bases is called into question, it changes Washington’s calculation of their strategic benefits.
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it → call → benefits
It also gives European and Gulf states reason to think seriously about the bases, given that they are becoming targets.”
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they → give → bases
How the Iran war changed the bargain
Hosting American bases has long been perceived as integral to how US allies, whether in Europe, the Gulf or East Asia, deter threats that they themselves face.
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they → change → that
Former US President Barack Obama once spoke of an “ironclad commitment” to Gulf security, while Britain regularly invokes its so-called “special relationship” with the United States.
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Britain → speak → States
In doing so, Britain and the Gulf have long cast themselves as willing partners to a power that — at least before current President Donald Trump — presented itself as the benevolent guarantor of its allies’ security.
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that → do → security
But a spate of recent security incidents, many linked to the war on Iran, is testing that narrative and raising questions about whose interests these commitments serve, and whether hosting American forces could be bringing danger closer to home.
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hosting → link → home
US prosecutors have charged three men they describe as Iranian-backed operatives over their alleged roles in plotting nearly 20 attacks across the United States and Europe, including on RAF Fairford.
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they → charge → Fairford
Meanwhile, in the Gulf, Iran explicitly cited the presence of US bases as justification for targeting its neighbours, bombing Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait.
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Iran → cite → Qatar
Iran also bombed Oman, which does not have a permanent US base; and Jordan and Iraq, beyond the Gulf, which do host major US military facilities.
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which → bomb → facilities
A report by the Pentagon’s watchdog released in September revealed that Iranian attacks damaged and destroyed hundreds of buildings and structures at US military installations in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and Jordan in the first four months of the war.
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attacks → release → war
At least five KC-135 aerial refuelling tankers were damaged when they were hit at the Prince Sultan airbase in Saudi Arabia.
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they → damage → Arabia
At least one of these airborne early-warning and control aircraft was damaged on the ground in a subsequent strike.
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one → damage → strike
Experts say these incidents are sharpening a security dilemma for US allies in the Gulf and Europe.
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incidents → say → Gulf
Hosting US forces can expose them to retaliation in a war they had no say in starting, while those same bases help defend some of those host countries from attacks, including by intercepting missiles and providing weapons transfers.
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bases → host → transfers
The war has disrupted flights and shipping, threatening the oil and gas exports on which much of the region depends.
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much → disrupt → region
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that further military action against Iran was unnecessary for now.
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action → say → Iran
But the US naval blockade remains in place, and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has yet to return to normal.
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shipping → remain → Hormuz
“While the utility of hosting foreign military bases has always involved a calculus of risk versus the assumed assurance it provides, the perception among Gulf Arab states is certainly shifting,” Mohammad Ali Shabani, a Middle East analyst, told Al Jazeera.
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Shabani → host → Jazeera
“The vulnerability of these assets is increasingly front-of-mind for host governments, who have not sought war, yet have been drawn into it without having had any real say.
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who → seek → say
The US calculation
Washington faces a dilemma of its own.
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Washington → face → own
Bases in Europe or the Middle East give it the reach to fight faraway wars, but their presence has also provided Iran with a litany of targets.
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presence → give → targets
In March, an Iranian drone hit a hangar at a British base in Cyprus that the US also uses for intelligence and logistics operations.
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US → hit → operations
Tehran threatened Bulgaria after reports emerged that the Eastern European NATO nation had allowed the US to use its Bezmer airbase for refuelling of planes used to attack Iran.
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US → threaten → Iran
Weeks later, Bulgaria’s defence minister announced that the US air tankers had left Bezmer for good, with the country’s president declaring that the “mission is over,” bringing relief to the village that the base draws its name from.
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base → announce → name
And in the Middle East, several key bases used by US troops have been almost rendered unusable, with those in Kuwait suffering the heaviest damage, say analysts.
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analysts → use → damage
An attack on the Port of Shuaiba killed six US service members and destroyed an army operations centre.
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attack → kill → centre
Iranian drones and missiles damaged aviation facilities and injured personnel at Ali Al Salem airbase, while strikes on Camp Buehring damaged maintenance and refuelling facilities.
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strikes → damage → facilities
In Qatar, an Iranian strike damaged the early warning radar system at Al Udeid airbase, which houses the headquarters of US Central Command’s (CENTCOM) air operations.
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which → damage → operations
…and 19 more, not listed.
The Aporia
