The situation in the Middle East has escalated amid indications of a possible U.S. strike on the Iranian regime, which is killing thousands of its own citizens amid unprecedented protests in the country.

Iran has threatened to attack American military bases in the region if the United States launches an attack, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing a senior Iranian official. The same source said that all “direct communication” between Washington and Tehran has been suspended, against the backdrop of increasingly harsh threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Reuters also reported that some of the personnel at the Al Udeid base in Qatar were instructed to evacuate the facility by the evening.

Al Udeid is the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East and is home to approximately 10,000 troops.

Also on Wednesday, Israel’s Wing of Zion state airplane took off around midday from Nevatim Air Base in southern Israel and headed west—most probably to prevent it being targeted in a possible Iranian strike

Anonymous Israeli officials claimed that the plane left Israel for a routine training mission.

However, it should be noted that the plane was previously flown out of Israel in June, during the Israel-Iran war, and in April 2024, prior to Iran’s missile attack on Israel.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)