40,000 reasons to worry: U.S. troops in Middle East could face Iran blowback

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has at least 40,000 reasons to worry about the aftermath of a potential attack on Iran.

That’s the rough number of U.S. troops stationed in the Middle East, in bases from Bahrain to Syria and points in between. Not to mention U.S. citizens who live and work in the region.

They would be vulnerable to counterattacks that could involve Iranian ballistic missiles, drones or terrorism should the United States join Israel in its ongoing attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Iran can strike “all of them,” a U.S. Defense official said.

The threat isn’t theoretical. Iran launched 13 ballistic missiles at U.S. troops in Iraq in January 2020. That attack, which wounded about 100 U.S. troops, followed the U.S. drone strike that killed Gen. Qasem Soleimani, leader of Iran's elite Quds Force, part of the country's hardline paramilitary Revolutionary Guard Corps. 

On June 18, President Donald Trump didn't dispel the possibilty of entering the war.

“I may do it. I may not do it," Trump told reporters June 18. "I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do."

If the United States does attack Iran's nuclear facilities, a likely weapon is the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, a bomb that can burrow deep into the earth before unleashing a huge explosion.

More: How does a bunker-buster bomb work? A closer look at the GBU-57

This week, to bolster protection for Americans in the Middle East, the Pentagon has begun shifting more firepower to the region, including the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier strike group, which is days away from arriving. Those ships will join others capable of shooting down ballistic missiles.

The added warplanes from the Nimitz and others in the region would be able to deliver a devastating response in Iran if they did attack U.S. troops, according to the U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly.

Asked whether there were adequate protections in place to repel an Iranian attack, a Pentagon spokesperson pointed to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s X post on June 16. Hegseth noted the “deployment of additional capabilities” to the region and that the protection of U.S. troops is “our top priority.”

On Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Hegseth told the Senate Armed Services Committee that “maximum protection” measures were in place.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat on the committee, said he found Hegseth unconvincing.

“I was really disappointed that he failed to offer greater assurance that we have taken active measures to protect U.S. personnel, both military and civilian, in the event of a strike by the United States,” Blumenthal said in an interview. “I asked specifically about drones and possibility of using them against American targets. I had no real comfort that there are adequate plans to stop or deflect such attacks.”

Dispatching the Nimitz strike group is a good step, Blumenthal said. But he questioned the ships’ ability to stop terrorist attacks or swarms of drones.

Blumenthal also noted that Iran may have the ability to mount drone attacks from within the United States. He pointed to Ukraine’s devastating drone attack on Russian warplanes deep inside its border. Israel, too, used drones smuggled into Iran as part of its attack.