Iran's deadly crackdown on protesters and U.S. warnings of intervention are being closely watched by neighboring countries in the Middle East.

Here is how the crisis is regarded by some of the region's key players:

Some personnel have been told to depart the United States' Al Udeid military base in Qatar, two diplomatic sources told AFP on Wednesday, after Washington threatened to respond to a government crackdown on protests in Iran.

A number of personnel were asked to leave the base by Wednesday evening, one source told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter. The second source confirmed the information, also on condition of anonymity.

Strong winter winds collapsed walls onto flimsy tents for Palestinians displaced by war in Gaza, killing at least four people, hospital authorities said Tuesday.

Dangerous living conditions persist in Gaza after more than two years of devastating Israeli bombardment and aid shortfalls. A ceasefire has been in effect since Oct. 10. But aid groups say that Palestinians broadly lack the shelter necessary to withstand frequent winter storms.

Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces exchanged fire Tuesday in a tense area of eastern Aleppo province, marking a possible escalation after days of clashes in the northern city.

No casualties were immediately reported, as an impasse continues in negotiations between the central government and the SDF over merging its thousands of fighters into the national army.

Israeli police issued an arrest warrant for a former aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, accusing him of being implicated in two affairs involving the premier's office.

The deadly clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters in Syria were an attempt to sabotage peace moves between Turkey and the PKK, the Kurdish militant group said Tuesday.

Israeli forces arrested two Israelis and a Palestinian on Tuesday who allegedly posed as soldiers to rob a jewelry shop in the southern occupied West Bank, the military and police said.

Syria's army told Kurdish forces on Tuesday to withdraw from an area they control east of Aleppo after dislodging fighters from two neighbourhoods in the city in deadly clashes last week.

A military escalation between the United States and Iran would have grave consequences for the region, Qatar said Tuesday after Washington threatened strikes in response to a government crackdown on protests in the Islamic republic.

By Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Rice University

(THE CONVERSATION) Years of simmering tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates exploded into the open on Dec. 30, 2025.