The United States has begun evacuating some personnel from the Al-Udeid airbase in Qatar.

The United States has begun evacuating some personnel from the Al-Udeid airbase in Qatar after launching joint strikes with Israel on Iranian territory. This was reported by the Reuters news agency on February 28.

"Tehran responded by launching missiles at the American Al-Udeid airbase in Qatar, the largest in the Middle East," the newspaper writes.

It is specified that about 10 thousand American troops are stationed at the base.

Artur Muradian, Vice President of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR), CEO of Space Travel, explained that there is no threat to tourists due to Iran's strike on the Al-Dhafra airbase in the UAE, it is remote from the coast.

"I don't think there is a threat to the life and health of [tourists], because, knowing the geography of the United Arab Emirates, it takes about 3.5 hours to get to the nearest base. And it is so far from the coast in terms of tourist locations that there will be no risk," he said in an interview with TASS.

The Middle East beyond the border: Israel strikes Iran

Israel launches a series of attacks on military and nuclear facilities, Tehran is preparing a response

Israel launched a preemptive strike on targets in Iran on the morning of February 28. The operation was called "Yehuda Shield." Iran has completely closed its airspace to all types of vessels. Explosions and communication outages were recorded in Tehran.

US President Donald Trump has confirmed that the United States has launched a large-scale military operation against Iran. He assured that "he will take care to deprive Iran of the opportunity to obtain nuclear weapons."

Later, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) recorded rocket launches from Iran, directed towards the country. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC, part of the Iranian armed forces) has launched a large-scale retaliatory operation against Israel. So, in Bahrain, the service center of the Fifth Fleet of the United States was subjected to rocket fire.

At the same time, the IDF launched a massive airstrike on military installations in western Iran. The city of Shiraz was attacked. In addition, 70,000 Israeli reservists were called up for military service. Meanwhile, Israeli civilians are forced to stay in bomb shelters amid missile attacks from Iran. Izvestia's footage shows people playing billiards in one of these shelters. Israelis are singing songs and making videos in a Tel Aviv bomb shelter.

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