Are American soldiers withdrawing from Saudi Arabia?

Much information and footage are being shared on social media related to the war in the Middle East, which initially started with joint attacks by the US and Israel against Iran. Among the content being shared, there are many misleading and false videos and posts. This is a fact check we conducted regarding one such post.

Social Media Posts :

A video was published on Facebook with the caption, “Departure of American soldiers from the military base in Saudi Arabia.” The video shows a group of American soldiers on a plane. The video further states that the United States has announced it will withdraw its military bases from Saudi Arabia and that the soldiers are leaving for their home country along with their belongings.

Facebook

A similar claim is going viral on Threads as well.

Threads | Archived Link

We took steps to check the accuracy of the video.

Fact Check:

On February 28, joint attacks by the US and Israel on Iran resulted in the deaths of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and several family members. Following these attacks, Iran began retaliating against US allies in the Middle East, where US military bases are located, citing attacks carried out without prior notice.

No media reports regarding the departure of American soldiers

If the United States had decided to withdraw its military bases from Saudi Arabia, it would have been reported by international media. However, no such news has been reported by international media or supported by the circulated footage.

On the first day of the US-Israeli attacks, Iran launched drone attacks on the US embassy in Saudi Arabia in response, and it has attacked Saudi Arabia on several occasions so far. The latest foreign reports indicate that five US Air Force refuelling planes have been destroyed in an Iranian attack on Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia. Prince Sultan is one of the few bases where the US military operates. However, there is no media report that this attack was the reason for the withdrawal of US troops, as seen in the video shared on social media.

Close US bases in the Middle East – Iran’s new spiritual leader

Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, recently made his first public statement, in which he said that Iran would continue to attack US bases in the region. He warned that, though Iran follows a policy of friendship with its neighbours, the US bases in those countries should be closed as soon as possible. However, none of the official media has reported the withdrawal of American troops.

No official reports have been issued by the US government.

Furthermore, our investigation found no indication of such news on the official website of the US Department of Defense, its official social media accounts, or US President Donald Trump’s official X and Truth accounts.

Accordingly, to further confirm, we checked this video using a reverse image search. It became clear that this scene has been circulating on social media since 2025. It was posted on June 22, 2025, by the account HustleBitch. The post claimed that a US soldier filmed it and shared it during the deployment of American troops in Iran.

X | Archived Link

The US Air Force and Navy jointly launched air and naval strikes targeting three Iranian nuclear facilities in 2025. However, the situation calmed down within a few days, and clashes broke out again this year on February 28, 2026. Against the backdrop of Iran attacking the United States and Israel, the above X post claiming that US soldiers are being stationed in Iran cannot be true. However, upon further investigation, we found that the relevant video was published on Instagram on January 18 as well.

Accordingly, it is clear that the above video, which has been circulating since 2025, is not an instance of US troops withdrawing from Saudi military bases.

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Conclusion:

Our investigation shows that the circulating video, which claims to show American soldiers withdrawing from Saudi Arabia, does not depict such an event. Although it is unclear when or where the footage was recorded, it has circulated on social media since 2025 and has been shared online with a misleading reference.