Washington, Aug 19: The Pentagon is evaluating whether to reduce the US military presence in the Persian Gulf after the Iran war, as extensive damage to American bases forces officials to reconsider how troops and equipment are positioned across the Middle East, US media reported.

The assessment is at an early stage and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has not ordered a formal review, according to a report by The Washington Post, which cited eight officials and other people familiar with the matter.

A senior Pentagon official described the exercise as “prudent planning”. It could eventually shape decisions on whether Washington should rebuild bases damaged during months of Iranian missile and drone attacks.

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

The Pentagon’s policy office is leading the evaluation. The Joint Staff and US Central Command are also studying the issue.

Central Command normally stations about 40,000 troops at nearly 20 sites stretching about 1,500 miles from Jordan to Oman. The largest and most permanent American bases in the Middle East are concentrated in the Persian Gulf.

Bahrain hosts the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet. Kuwait houses major Army and Air Force assets.

Since early this year, the Pentagon has sent additional warships, fighter aircraft, air-defence systems and other equipment to the region. US forces have carried out more than 13,000 strikes against Iran, according to the report.

Adm. Bradley Cooper, the head of Central Command, supports discussions about potentially moving American troops west from the Gulf, a US official said. A Central Command spokesperson declined to comment.

Before the war began in February, Central Command evacuated personnel from several bases because they were considered vulnerable to Iranian missiles and drones. Some of those movements could remain in place after the conflict.

“Iran thinks we are in the traditional places,” a person familiar with the adjustments said. “And we are not.”

Six American service members were killed in a March strike on Port Shuaiba in Kuwait. More than 200 US facilities have been damaged or destroyed during the conflict, the newspaper reported earlier.

The US military has also used more than 1,000 advanced air-defence interceptors, reducing its stockpiles of Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defence missiles.

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

Ratney said moving personnel and equipment westwards to Jordan, Israel or Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast could reduce some risks. But he said the added distance was not a “perfect solution to this problem.”

Iran has demonstrated that it can hit targets farther away. An Iranian attack on Jordan last month killed four US service members.

Allison Minor, a former National Security Council director for Arabian Peninsula affairs, said Gulf countries could retain arms sales, intelligence sharing and other parts of their US security partnerships while hosting fewer American troops.

“But you need to be discussing all of those comprehensively and not just the question of the sheer number of troops,” she said.

The Pentagon estimates that the war will cost about $37.5 billion by the end of September. That figure does not include rebuilding damaged bases. The American Enterprise Institute estimated in April that repairs could cost $5 billion.

Washington, Aug 19: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (US local time) instructed his top envoys to halt their conversations with Iran, according to a CNN report, citing US officials.

Trump told his negotiating team, including Vice President JD Vance and envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, not to engage with Tehran despite what officials described as some “positive discussions” with Iran, the report said.

Signaling his readiness to put the conflict at arm’s length, Trump has been unsatisfied with Tehran’s unwillingness to bend to his demands, according to the report. He wants to wait until Iran’s leaders signal fresh willingness to strike the deal he is seeking before reengaging, reports Xinhua news agency.

The White House is shifting strategy to “strangle” Iran over time rather than resort to further strikes, CNN quoted a source familiar with the matter as saying.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday that the United States would impose measures on Iran that have “never been seen,” and Washington is stepping up a financial campaign against Tehran.

He added that the Treasury Department has targeted Iranian “bank accounts, crypto wallets, assets around the world, cutting off payments into both the leadership in the regime and the government itself.”

Despite repeated earlier assertions that talks were proceeding well, Trump announced on social media on Tuesday that there were “no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled” with Iran.

“The Naval Blockade remains in full force and effect,” he added, claiming the Strait of Hormuz “is open and operating” and “all water mines have been removed or detonated,” contradicting reports that traffic through the global energy waterway remains sharply reduced.

The United States and Iran remain at odds over the Strait of Hormuz and the terms for ending the conflict, with the future of the talks uncertain after a 60-day negotiating period set under a memorandum of understanding ended on Monday.

Dhaka: Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi has said that Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman would be accorded an “honourable reception” if he decides to visit India, local media reported.

Addressing a reception hosted for leading Bangladeshi business leaders and a delegation of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at a Dhaka hotel, Trivedi said, “After meeting the prime minister here, I went straight to Delhi and had a great meeting with our prime minister. He (PM Narendra Modi) just mentioned one thing: we need to meet.”

According to Bangladesh’s leading newspaper The Daily Star, the Indian High Commissioner mentioned that PM Modi has stated that when the Prime Minister of Bangladesh visits India, he will have such an “honourable reception as he deserves”.

Last week, Trivedi called on Prime Minister Modi in New Delhi, a day after he paid a courtesy call on PM Rahman in Dhaka.

Emphasising that Rahman’s potential visit would be a “memorable” one, Trivedi said it could benefit people and businesses in both countries. He admitted that the bilateral relationship had encountered “hiccups”, but maintained that such setbacks should not erode the longstanding ties between the two nations.

“I can tell you I fully understand there are issues, but these issues can definitely be sorted out once the prime minister of Bangladesh and our Prime Minister Narendra Modi meet,” said the Indian High Commissioner.

“We need to get ourselves together… I’m not telling you to forget the past. Keep it, but sort out the differences. And move on. Don’t get stagnant,” he added.

Trivedi highlighted people-to-people ties, employment, education and healthcare as key areas in which the two countries could further expand cooperation. He said that New Delhi’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy underscores the importance India places on its relationship with Bangladesh.

He noted that a series of high-level engagements, including visits by India’s External Affairs Minister and Speaker, as well as his own posting to Dhaka, reflected New Delhi’s desire to give fresh impetus to bilateral ties. He said that Indian officials had been working closely with the Bangladeshi leaders in recent weeks to resolve differences and gain an understanding of the concerns of the people of Bangladesh, adding that the relationship should be seen as “a partnership of equals”.

Meanwhile, the Indian High Commission in Dhaka hosted the business reception on Tuesday, bringing together the visiting delegation from the CII and leading members of the business community in Bangladesh for meaningful interactions.

According to the Indian High Commission, the discussions were aimed at advancing bilateral economic and commercial cooperation and fostering stronger business-to-business linkages between India and Bangladesh.

Bangladesh’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam also attended the programme and delivered the keynote speech.