The Pentagon is assessing whether the United States should reduce its military footprint in the Persian Gulf after months of Iranian attacks exposed vulnerabilities at major US bases, according to people familiar with the matter.

The early-stage analysis is examining whether heavily damaged facilities should be rebuilt at their current locations or whether US troops and military assets should be repositioned elsewhere in the region. No formal review or final decision has been made.

The assessment is being led by the Pentagon’s policy office, with the Joint Staff and US Central Command also involved in discussions, according to a senior Pentagon official. The official described the effort as “prudent planning” that could help determine how Washington responds to the extensive damage caused during the conflict.

“Decisions are going to have to be made on some of this stuff,” the official said.

Iran war exposes vulnerability of US bases

The US military normally maintains about 40,000 troops across nearly 20 locations in the Middle East, stretching from Jordan to Oman. The largest and most permanent US facilities are concentrated around the Persian Gulf.

Bahrain hosts the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet, while Kuwait and other Gulf states accommodate significant US Army and Air Force assets.

Those bases have come under sustained Iranian attack since the start of the war. More than 200 US facilities have been damaged or destroyed during the conflict, according to earlier reporting.

Six US service members were also killed in a March strike on Port Shuaiba, a military facility in Kuwait.

The conflict has also placed significant pressure on US air-defence capabilities. The Pentagon has used more than 1,000 advanced interceptors, including Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missiles, reducing its stockpile.

“The war really did highlight the vulnerability … of U.S. forces in the region,” said Michael Ratney, a former US ambassador to Saudi Arabia and former deputy chief of mission in Qatar.

Pentagon considers moving troops west

One option under discussion is moving some US forces and equipment away from the Persian Gulf towards locations farther west, including Jordan, Israel or Saudi Arabia.

Such a move could reduce the exposure of American personnel to Iranian missile and drone attacks, although officials and experts acknowledge that relocating forces would not eliminate the threat.

A US official said Adm. Bradley Cooper, the head of US Central Command, supports discussions about potentially shifting troops westward from the Gulf. CENTCOM declined to comment.

The US military had already begun reducing its exposure before the war. In February, CENTCOM evacuated personnel from several bases after determining that they were too vulnerable to Iranian missile and drone attacks.

Some of those adjustments could remain in place even after the conflict ends.

“Iran thinks we are in the traditional places,” one person familiar with the US military posture said. “And we are not.”

Rebuilding damaged bases could cost billions

The Pentagon faces a major financial decision over whether to rebuild bases damaged during the war.

The US government has estimated that the conflict will cost about $37.5 billion by the end of September. That figure does not include the potential cost of reconstructing damaged military installations.

An April estimate by the American Enterprise Institute put the cost of repairing targeted US bases at about $5 billion.

The Pentagon has previously acknowledged that reconstruction costs were excluded from its war estimates because the administration had not yet decided how it wanted to rebuild its regional infrastructure.

Gulf allies could face security concerns

Any significant reduction in the US military presence would also have implications for American allies in the Gulf.

For decades, countries including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have relied heavily on US military power for their security.

A smaller American troop presence could force Gulf states to accelerate investments in their own defence capabilities or deepen security partnerships with other powers.

However, experts say the US could maintain parts of its existing partnerships, including arms sales and intelligence-sharing arrangements, while reducing the number of troops stationed in the region.

“You need to be discussing all of those comprehensively and not just the question of the sheer number of troops,” said Allison Minor, a former Trump administration National Security Council official.

Debate over America’s role in the Middle East

The Pentagon’s assessment could deepen an existing debate within the Trump administration over the future of US military commitments overseas.

One camp favours maintaining a strong military presence to deter Iran and protect American allies. Others argue that the Pentagon should reduce overseas commitments and concentrate more resources on defending the US homeland and countering major competitors such as China.

A proposal by the defence-focused think tank Defense Priorities has called for closing bases located within easy striking distance of Iranian missiles and drones, including facilities in Kuwait. It also proposed shifting forces currently dispersed across the UAE, Jordan and Bahrain to more secure locations.

Other, more hawkish voices have advocated moving additional US forces to Israel, including the Ovda Airbase.

That option has also faced opposition within the administration because of concerns that a larger US presence in Israel could create counterintelligence risks.

No final decision yet

Despite the ongoing assessment, officials familiar with the Pentagon’s discussions stressed that any permanent change to the US military posture remains some way off.

Any decision to significantly reduce the Gulf presence or relocate major military assets would require approval from senior administration officials.

For now, the Pentagon is weighing the costs and risks of rebuilding vulnerable bases against the possibility of adopting a smaller and more dispersed military footprint after the Iran war.