US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that 30,000 to 40,000 American soldiers are stationed at eight to nine military bases in the Middle East.
"I want to define the main starting point regarding our presence in the region. 30,000 to 40,000 American troops are stationed in eight to nine facilities in the region," Rubio said during a US Senate hearing.
According to him, Washington considers the threat of an attack on American troops in the region to be real and, therefore, reserves the right to launch a preventive strike if it receives information about an expected attack by Iran.
