US moves troops to hotels in Middle East – seemingly in violation of its own rules of war: report

The Pentagon may have violated its own rules of war by moving troops from U.S. bases, targeted by Iran, to hotels and other civilian locations in the Middle East region, the New York Times reported.

Since the start of the conflict, initiated by President Donald Trump’s missile strikes, Iranian forces have been targeting U.S. bases throughout the region. Bases, such as the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia and the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, have been damaged and at least a dozen service members have been killed.

As a result, troops have been moved to office spaces and hotels throughout the region where they’ve been working remotely, military personnel told the New York Times last month.

If true, this could mean the Defense Department has violated a U.S. Law of War, which says officials must use their best efforts to distinguish military forces from others to mitigate civilian casualties and property damage.

The Independent has asked the Pentagon for comment.

Iran has launched a retaliatory missile strike campaign against the U.S. since America and Israel began their attack in late February. Iran has targeted U.S. military bases in addition to U.S. embassies and recently warned it would attack U.S. businesses throughout the Gulf region.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had already asked people to report locations where troops are located, which U.S. officials said would not intimidate them from ceasing attacks.

The U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia issued a travel advisory this week, warning American citizens that “gathering” areas could be potential targets.

Mitigating civilian casualties is a main pillar of the U.S. rules of war as well as the Geneva Conventions. Forces are not to target civilians unnecessarily and are asked to do what they can to ensure civilians are kept out of harm’s way.

Section II of the U.S. Law of War states that parties in conflict should “physically separate, as feasible, their military objectives from civilian population and other protected persons and objects.”

However, the manual also says it may not always be feasible to do so in cases where forces are “housed in populated areas to take advantage of existing facilities.”

More than 300 American service members have been injured since the beginning of the attacks, and at least 13 service members have been killed. Roughly 20 U.S. aircraft, including a critical American spy plane, have been damaged.

Trump is expected to deliver an address to the nation on April 1 after publicly vacillating between increased military threats to Iran and claims of diplomatic progress in reaching an agreement to end the war, which has spiked domestic gas prices and roiled global energy markets with Iran’s effective control over the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global oil supplies.

Trump initially said American naval vessels would escort ships through the passage but has since repeatedly demanded European allies to contribute naval support for an operation to reopen the strait to maritime traffic.

The administration is also reportedly weighing a potentially risky ground operation to seize uranium from deep inside Iran, what would mark a major escalation of a conflict that has entered a second month.

This week, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the U.S. will “operate within the confines of the law” when questioned about the president’s threats to destroy Iran’s electricity plants and desalination plants, civilian infrastructure that could amount to war crimes under international law if targeted.