WASHINGTON (Dispatches) -- The United States is reassessing the scale of its military presence in Kuwait after Iranian retaliatory strikes inflicted heavy losses on American bases and personnel in the oil-rich Persian Gulf state, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing U.S. officials.
For decades, Kuwait has served as one of Washington’s most strategic military hubs in the region, hosting thousands of U.S. troops and serving as a launchpad for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.  
However, the U.S.-Kuwait relationship is now being fundamentally reconsidered. After the U.S. and Israel launched an unprovoked war on Iran in February, Tehran responded with barrages of missiles and drones targeting U.S. bases and assets in Kuwait and other Persian Gulf states that Washington used as staging grounds for its assault. 
Iranian strikes heavily damaged U.S. military installations in Kuwait, with one attack in March killing six U.S. service members.
The Pentagon was already considering drawing down its forces before the Iran war began, current and former officials told the WSJ. Now, in response to Iranian retaliatory attacks, the U.S. has already reduced its presence in Kuwait to minimize risk. 
“The question really is, if the Iran war continues, whether that large of a U.S. presence still makes sense,” said Elizabeth Dent, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a former Pentagon official.
Meanwhile, Iranian strikes have continued. On Friday, the Iranian Army targeted the Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base in Kuwait with kamikaze drones, striking fighter jet hangars, satellite communication systems, and equipment storage facilities in retaliation for a U.S. attack on a residential home on Qeshm Island. 
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) targeted the Ali Al Salem U.S. Air Base in Kuwait on Thursday, destroying two drone hangars and a fuel tank for military aircraft. Satellite images released by Soar Atlas confirmed damage to the warehouse area used by U.S. forces at the base.
Iran has also struck U.S. installations in Bahrain and Jordan. On Thursday evening, Iran targeted the Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain using loitering munitions to strike power generators, navigation systems, and administrative buildings — in retaliation for the killing of Lt. Col. Majid Kazemi, a Sukhoi-24 pilot shot down in Qatari airspace. The IRGC also struck an Amazon data center in Bahrain.
As the U.S. military footprint in the region comes under strain, President Donald Trump is reportedly planning a fresh wave of massive strikes against Iran — potentially as early as this weekend — targeting energy infrastructure, including power plants and oil refineries.
CBS News reported that the U.S. and Israel are coordinating “what would be one of the harshest bombing campaigns to date against energy infrastructure targets in Iran”. 
The Wall Street Journal, citing U.S. officials, said Trump has ordered a new offensive that could begin this weekend and last for several days. Some White House aides have voiced strong objections to the plan, but Trump has publicly threatened to hit Iran “very hard”.
“We’ll be hitting him very hard and, you know, at some point they’re going to say, ‘We just can’t take it anymore,’” Trump told reporters during a cabinet meeting at Camp David on Friday. He had previously threatened to destroy bridges and power plants in Iran.
In response, Tehran has prepared a comprehensive plan to retaliate against any American recklessness, including strikes on critical Israeli infrastructure and U.S. energy facilities across West Asia. 
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council has reportedly finalized a “comprehensive and multi-layered” response plan that would strike dozens of American and Israeli targets simultaneously within minutes of any major U.S. attack.
The U.S. Embassy in Jordan issued a security alert Saturday urging Americans to consider leaving West Asia amid rising tensions, warning of flight cancellations, airspace closures, and potential travel disruptions. It also warned that “Iran and groups supportive of Iran may target other U.S. interests overseas.”