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The United States is evacuating forces from several of its key military bases across the Middle East, amid preparations for a possible strike on Iran, an official American source told Reuters news agency.

Earlier, it was reported that staff members were evacuated from the Al-Udeid base in Qatar, which is the largest American base in the Middle East.

Last year, more than a week before the U.S. launched air strikes on Iran, some personnel and families were moved off U.S. bases in the Middle East. After the U.S. attacks in June, Iran launched a missile attack on the base in Qatar.

"It's a posture change and not an ordered evacuation," one of the diplomats told Reuters. The diplomat said he was not aware that a specific reason had been given for the posture change.

Earlier in the day, a senior Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran warned regional countries it would strike U.S. military bases in case of an attack by Washington, after President Donald Trump threatened to intervene in Iran.

Al Udeid is the Middle East's largest U.S. base, housing around 10,000 troops. The 24-hectare (59-acre) base, in the desert outside the capital Doha, is ⁠the forward headquarters for U.S. Central Command, which directs U.S. military operations in a huge swath of territory stretching from Egypt in the west to Kazakhstan ​in the east.

Netanyahu’s plane moved to unknown destination

In parallel, Israeli media reported on Wednesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plane was transferred out of the country for fear of being bombed. Earlier, the Flight Radar website observed the launch of Netanyahu's plane to an “unspecified destination.”

The same procedure happened on the first day of the 12-day war between between Israel and Iran.