WASHINGTON (AP) — Some personnel at a key U.S. military base in Qatar have been advised to evacuate by Wednesday evening, a U.S. official said. The decision came as a senior official in Iran brought up an earlier Iranian attack there.
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.
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FILE - President Donald Trump speaks with reporters aboard Air Force One at Al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar, Oct. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
FILE - U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks at the Al Udeid Air Base, May 15, 2025, in Doha, Qatar. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
FILE - President Donald Trump, right, meets with Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani aboard Air Force One at Al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
A woman cries as members of the Iranian community stage a rally in support of anti-government protests in Iran, outside the U.S. embassy in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
In response, Qatar said Wednesday that such measures were being “undertaken in response to the current regional tensions.”
“The IMO reaffirms that the State of Qatar continues to implement all necessary measures to safeguard the security and safety of its citizens and residents as a top priority, including actions related to the protection of critical infrastructure and military facilities,” Qatar’s media office said in a post on X.
The Pentagon declined to comment on questions about the move. The State Department had no immediate comment on the potential for any security alerts to be issued for American diplomats or other civilians in Qatar. In June, the embassy had issued a brief shelter-in-place advisory to U.S. citizens in Doha but stopped short of evacuating diplomats or advising Americans to leave the country.
The precautionary measure comes as anti-government protests in nearby Iran continue and President Donald Trump has said that he is willing to conduct military operations in the country if the government continues to retaliate against the protesters.
The base, which hosts thousands of U.S. service members, was targeted by Iran in June in retaliation for U.S. strikes on its nuclear facilities.
Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on the social platform X wrote “the #US President, who repeatedly talks about the futile aggression against #Iran’s nuclear facilities, would do well to also mention the destruction of the US base in #Al-Udeid by Iranian missiles.”
“It would certainly help create a real understanding of Iran’s will and ability to respond to any aggression,” he added.
Iranian and Qatari officials had spoken on Tuesday amid the deadly crackdown in Iran and America’s escalating threats to intervene if protesters are not spared.
Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, had a phone call with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar’s prime minister.
In a statement on X, Al Thani said that he “reaffirmed the State of Qatar’s backing of all de-escalation efforts, as well as peaceful solutions to enhance security and stability in the region.”
Iran’s decision in June to retaliate against U.S. strikes by targeting the sprawling desert facility outside Doha created a rare tension between the two maritime neighbors, with Qatari officials saying it caught them by surprise.
No American or Qatari personnel were harmed, the U.S. military’s Central Command said at the time, noting that the two forces worked together to defend the base. A Qatari military officer said one of 19 missiles fired by Iran was not intercepted and hit the base, but the Republican U.S. president said in a social media post at the time that “hardly any damage was done.”
The Gulf state has been caught in the crossfire of other regional tensions, including an Israeli strike in September on the headquarters of Hamas’ political leadership in Doha while the group’s top figures had been gathered to consider a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Amiri reported from New York.
FILE - President Donald Trump speaks with reporters aboard Air Force One at Al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar, Oct. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
FILE - U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks at the Al Udeid Air Base, May 15, 2025, in Doha, Qatar. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
FILE - President Donald Trump, right, meets with Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani aboard Air Force One at Al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
A woman cries as members of the Iranian community stage a rally in support of anti-government protests in Iran, outside the U.S. embassy in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran's judiciary head signaled Wednesday there would be fast trials and executions ahead for suspects detained in nationwide protests despite a warning from U.S. President Donald Trump.
The comments by Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei came as activists had warned hangings of those detained could come soon. The security force crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,586, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported. The current death toll exceeds that of any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Trump has repeatedly warned that the U.S. may take military action over the killing of peaceful protesters, just months after it bombed Iranian nuclear sites during a 12-day war launched by Israel against the Islamic Republic in June.
Iran meanwhile has threatened it could make a preemptive strike after alleging without offering evidence that Israel and the United States orchestrated the protests. A U.S. official said some personnel at a key U.S. military base in Qatar have been advised to evacuate by Wednesday evening, a decision that came as a senior official in Iran brought up an earlier Iranian attack there.
A mass funeral also was held Wednesday for some 100 security force members killed in the demonstrations. Tens of thousands of mourners attended, holding Iranian flags and photos of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The caskets, covered in Iranian flags, stood stacked at least three high. Red and white roses and framed photographs of people who were killed covered them.
People elsewhere remained fearful in the streets. Plainclothes security forces still milled around some neighborhoods, though anti-riot police and members of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard's all-volunteer Basij force appeared to have been sent back to their barracks.
“We are very frightened because of these sounds (of gunfire) and protests,” said a mother-of-two shopping for fruits and vegetables, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. “We have heard many are killed and many are injured. Now peace has been restored but schools are closed and I’m scared to send my children to school again.”
Ahmadreza Tavakoli, 36, told The Associated Press he witnessed one demonstration in Tehran and was shocked by the use of firearms by authorities.
“People were out to express themselves and protest, but quickly it turned into a war zone,” Tavakoli said. “The people do not have guns. Only the security forces have guns.”
Mohseni-Ejei's comments about rapid trials and executions were made in a video shared by Iranian state television online.
“If we want to do a job, we should do it now. If we want to do something, we have to do it quickly,” he said. “If it becomes late, two months, three months later, it doesn’t have the same effect. If we want to do something, we have to do that fast.”
The comments stand as a direct challenge to Trump, who warned Iran about executions an interview with CBS aired Tuesday.
“We will take very strong action,” Trump said. “If they do such a thing, we will take very strong action.”
“We don’t want to see what’s happening in Iran happen. And you know, if they want to have protests, that’s one thing, when they start killing thousands of people, and now you’re telling me about hanging — we’ll see how that works out for them. It’s not going to work out good.”
One Arab Gulf diplomat told the AP that major Mideast governments had been discouraging the Trump administration from launching a war now with Iran, fearing “unprecedented consequences” for the region that could explode into a “full-blown war.” The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to journalists.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. Iran’s government cut off the country from the internet and international telephone calls on Jan. 8.
Activists said Wednesday that Starlink was offering free service in Iran. The satellite internet service has been key in getting around an internet shutdown launched by the theocracy on Jan. 8. Iran began allowing people to call out internationally on Tuesday via their mobile phones, but calls from people outside the country into Iran remain blocked.
“We can confirm that the free subscription for Starlink terminals is fully functional,” said Mehdi Yahyanejad, a Los Angeles-based activist who has helped get the units into Iran. “We tested it using a newly activated Starlink terminal inside Iran.”
Starlink itself did not immediately acknowledge the decision.
Security service personnel also apparently were searching for Starlink dishes, as people in northern Tehran reported authorities raiding apartment buildings with satellite dishes. While satellite television dishes are illegal, many in the capital have them in homes, and officials broadly had given up on enforcing the law in recent years.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency said 2,417 of the dead were protesters and 147 were government-affiliated. Twelve children were killed, along with 10 civilians it said were not taking part in protests.
More than 18,400 people have been detained, the group said.
Gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult, and the AP has been unable to independently assess the toll given the communications being disrupted in the country.
Associated Press writers Melanie Lidman in Jerusalem and Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.
FILE - In this photo obtained by The Associated Press, Iranians attend an anti-government protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP, file)
FILE - This frame grab from footage circulating on social media shows protesters dancing and cheering around a bonfire as they take to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world, in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP, File)
FILE - In this photo released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a ceremony to mark the Shiite holiday of Eid al-Ghadir, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, June 25, 2024. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP, File)
