The Big Story 

Tens of thousands of U.S. troops are within Iran’s striking distance should President Trump decide to wade into Israel’s conflict with Tehran and directly attack the country.

© Alex Brandon, Associated Press

More than 40,000 American service members and civilians — as well as billions of dollars in military equipment — are in the Middle East, spread out across bases in Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.  

Those working in countries closest to Iran, including Iraq and Kuwait, would conceivably have only minutes to prepare for an incoming Iranian strike, a likely outcome should Trump order the U.S. military to join Israel’s bombing campaign, experts say.

“If [Iran] had the ballistic missiles ready to go, those strikes could happen in under 15 minutes. Launched to target,” retired Col. Seth Krummrich, vice president at security consultancy firm Global Guardian, told The Hill. “They move very quickly.”

Israel last week unleashed a barrage of airstrikes on Iran that set off the largest conflict ever between the two regional adversaries, with Tehran responding with its own attacks. The war has threatened to pull in the U.S., which says it supports Israel’s right to defend itself but has not directly involved itself in the bombing. 

Trump has not yet decided on possible American military action against Iran, telling reporters through his top spokesperson that he would make his decision within two weeks.

But Iran has already threatened to directly attack U.S. forces should they enter Israel’s war campaign, with the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warning Wednesday that “Americans should know that any U.S. military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage.” 

Tehran’s threats aren’t idle, as the country has retaliated against Washington in the past, most notably in January 2020, when Trump in his first term ordered an airstrike that killed Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force.

The strike, which happened as Soleimani traveled to Baghdad, prompted a swift response from Iran, which days later hammered Al-Asad Air Base in Iraq and another U.S. base in Erbil with 13 ballistic missiles. While no Americans were killed in the largest ballistic missile attack ever against U.S. forces abroad, more than 100 were later diagnosed and treated for traumatic brain injuries.

Now, with Trump reportedly considering using the GBU-57 — known as the Massive Ordnance Penetrator or so-called bunker buster bomb — to damage Iran’s Fordow nuclear enrichment facility, a similar attack from Tehran could soon be at hand. 

Read the full report at TheHill.com.

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