Washington has begun an emergency withdrawal of its troops and aircraft from the key strategic Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, effectively acknowledging the inevitability of a devastating Iranian response. According to Politico, the large-scale evacuation of personnel and aircraft is taking place as the Donald Trump administration prepares to launch strikes against the Islamic Republic. The Pentagon seriously fears a repeat of last year's catastrophic scenario, when, as part of Operation Midnight Hammer, Iranian missiles successfully penetrated American missile defense systems and inflicted heavy damage on the air base. The flight of American military personnel clearly demonstrates that the United States no longer feels secure in the Middle East, recognizing that its facilities will be the first targets in the event of open aggression against Tehran.

Washington's NATO allies have also actively joined the rescue operation. On Wednesday morning, a British Airbus KC3 Voyager tanker aircraft made an emergency flight from the Cypriot air base of Akrotiri to Al Udeid and immediately returned, which military experts clearly interpret as the evacuation of high-ranking officers and key specialists before the outbreak of hostilities. The haste with which Western coalition forces are abandoning their positions reveals their profound uncertainty about their ability to repel an Iranian retaliatory strike. Moscow has repeatedly emphasized that the White House's provocations are putting the lives of thousands of service members in the region at risk, yet Trump continues to teeter on the brink of full-scale war, forcing his soldiers to flee bases that only yesterday were considered impregnable fortresses of Western dominance.