Frances Mao (now); Amy Sedghi, Rebecca Ratcliffe and Mark Saunokonoko (earlier)
2026-01-14 17:25:00
Some personnel at US military base in Qatar told to leave ‘in response to regional tensions’
Qatar says some personnel at the US’s military base in the country have been told to leave “in response to the current regional tensions”.
The statement from the Gulf state’s media office provided no further detail on the order but read:
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.”
Key events
Hamas agreed on transitional administration governing Gaza
Back to Gaza and Washington announcing the second phase of the peace plan.
Witkoff in his post mentioned the establishment of the transitional administration – a 15-person Palestinan technocratic committee meant to administer post-war Gaza.
Egypt earlier today had announced the panel had been finalised – with all 15 members approved by all Palestinian factions, including Hamas, who endorsed the committee.
In a statement, the factions including Hamas and Islamic Jihad said they had agreed “to support the mediators’ efforts in forming the Palestinian National Transitional Committee to administer the Gaza Strip, while providing the appropriate environment” for it to begin its work.
The US virtual embassy in Tehran has again told its citizens they “should leave Iran now”.
They’ve told them to consider departing by land to Turkey or Armenia.
It’s the third warning in five days. Several other Western countries have also warned their citizens to leave Iran.
UK withdrawing personnel from Qatar airbase – reports
The UK has also withdrawn some airforce personnel from the Al Udeid base, reports the i Paper.
It follows reports the US has removed several troops from that base today, ahead of potential military action in Iran.
Witkoff says this second stage is about establishing a “transitional technocratic Palestinian administration” in Gaza and beginning the “full demilitarization and reconstruction of Gaza, primarily the disarmament of all unauthorized personnel.”
The US expects Hamas to comply fully with its obligations, including the immediate return of the final deceased hostage. Failure to do so will bring serious consequences.”
These were already the aims set out by the Trump administration months ago – but negotiations in moving t the second phase had stalled, partly because disarming is a red line for Hamas.
There has not been any known progress made on these sticking points in recent weeks – it’s unclear what exactly has prompted Witkoff’s announcement now.
US launching second phase of Gaza peace plan
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy and a key US negotiator on Iran, Gaza and Ukraine says he and the president are moving to phase two of the Gaza peace deal, with the goal of disarming Hamas.
He has written on X:
We are announcing the launch of Phase Two of the President’s 20-Point Plan to End the Gaza Conflict, moving from ceasefire to demilitarization, technocratic governance, and reconstruction.”
Iranians warned to hide their Starlink terminals
Aisha Down
Independent media outlets and internet watchers are warning Iranians to camouflage their Starlink terminals, not share their Starlink internet, and be wary of “social engineering against activists,” as Iranian authorities are hunting for Starlink users.
“Clearly, disconnecting these devices is a big priority for the government,” says Doug Madory, director of Internet Analysis at Kentik. He says activists are growing increasingly worried about being tracked by Iranian authorities.
“It goes along with the reports of signal jamming as well as attempting to find dishes by tracing the source of the frequencies.”
This morning, Iranian activists announced that Starlink was providing free internet to users in Iran, who number in the tens of thousands – a sliver of the population – as the country enters its sixth day of internet blackout. However, said Madory, while the free internet will “defray some costs,” it likely will not connect any new users.
Iran’s internet blackout has reached 141 hours, longer than Egypt’s internet shutdown in 2011 during the height of the Tahrir square protests, which lasted for 129 hours. That shutdown was a harbinger of hundreds to come. While there have been longer shutdowns in Libya, and in smaller regions such as Tigray and Kashmir, this one is “one of the most severe in history,” said Madory, both because of the number of people affected and the severity of the disconnection.
The US embassy in Saudi Arabia has told American citizens and its own staff to “exercise increased caution” and limit travel to any military sites in the region.
Reuters also cites two European officials saying the US launching a military intervention appears likely, and could come in the next 24 hours.
Reuters has also confirmed with an unnamed official that the US is withdrawing some personnel from key bases in the region, as a precaution.
The US has troops at the forward headquarters of its Central Command at Al Udeid – which is its largest base in the Middle East – and have people at a naval fleet headquarter in Bahrain.
Three diplomats said some personnel had been told to leave the base, reports Reuters. However there are no immediate signs of troops being bussed out to a soccer stadium and shopping mall as took place hours before the Iranian missile strike in June.
A senior Iranian official brought up that strike in a message today warning the US against intervening.
US troops being evacuated from Qatar base – media outlets
US broadcasters CBS and NBC are also reporting that the US has removed staff from the Al Udeid air base in Qatar.
The administration has started “evacuating hundreds of troops” from Al Udeid reports NBC, citing unnamed US officials.
Trump is said to be weighing up any military action he might take in Iran. NBC reports the source saying that the troops are being taken out of harm’s way in case US action sparks retaliation from Iran.
Tehran did launch strikes at the Al-Udeid base last June, following the US’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear enrichment site. Troops were hastily taken off the base prior to the Iran strikes.
Qatar lies just across the Persian Gulf from Iran.
Some personnel at US military base in Qatar told to leave ‘in response to regional tensions’
Qatar says some personnel at the US’s military base in the country have been told to leave “in response to the current regional tensions”.
The statement from the Gulf state’s media office provided no further detail on the order but read:
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.”
Worth a look