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By Mostafa Salem, Jeremy Diamond, Gul Tuysuz, CNN

(CNN) — Some personnel at the United States’ largest military base in the Middle East have been urged to leave, a US official told CNN on Wednesday, as regional nations press the Trump administration to reconsider taking military action against Iran.

The US official described the directive to some personnel to leave al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar as a “precaution,” given current tension in the region.

The US Embassy in Saudi Arabia also advised its personnel to “exercise increased caution and limit non-essential travel to any military installations in the region” and urged citizens to maintain a “personal safety plan.”

Meanwhile, anxiety is spreading across Iran’s neighbors. Those countries fear that an attack could destabilize the region and have far-reaching consequences, prompting them to speak to the Trump administration to air their concerns.

Arab and Turkish officials have significantly intensified diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions between Washington and Tehran this week, sources told CNN.

“Any military escalation will have consequences for the wider region, including its security and economy,” a regional official with knowledge of the matter told CNN on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman have launched diplomatic efforts to prevent further escalation, the official said. Arab governments have warned that an attack now could have the “opposite effect and unite Iranians on both sides behind the regime,” the regional official said.

Turkish efforts may be ‘too late’

Turkey is also in touch with both Iranian and American officials about returning to the negotiating table, a regional diplomatic source told CNN on Wednesday. But it may be “too late,” the source warned.

“Currently, there is talk about negotiating. The pace of talks is slow, (and) at this speed might end up being too late,” the source said.

On Friday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said his country is trying to “support” an agreement between Iran and the US that will “result in a win-win situation” for both sides.

“The stability of the region depends on it,” Fidan said.

Turkey, a NATO member that has felt the economic pressures and security risks from hosting millions of Syrian refugees from Syria’s decade-long civil war, risks encountering a new wave of refugees should the Iranian regime collapse.

But its primary concern with instability in Iran is likely the risk of unrest in its neighbor’s Kurdish regions, which Ankara fears could spill across the border and reignite separatist sentiment. Last year, Turkey reached a historic turning point in its decades-long conflict with militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) after the group renounced violence and ambitions to secede.

In Saudi Arabia, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir told CNN’s Becky Anderson on Wednesday that “everybody is watching the situation very closely.”

“Everybody is hoping that the situation can be resolved in a manner that minimizes any kind of damage,” he said.

Since US President Donald Trump first threatened to intervene last week, more than 2,000 protesters have been killed by Iranian forces, who accuse them of being “foreign-backed rioters.” Trump doubled down Tuesday in a social media post, calling on Iranians to take over institutions and promising that “HELP IS ON ITS WAY.”

Trump also announced that he had “cancelled all meetings” with Iranian officials following reports over the weekend suggesting possible negotiations between the US and Iran.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke to his counterparts in the United Arab Emirates and Turkey, and the chief of Iran’s national security body, Ali Larijani, spoke to the Qatari foreign minister.

Fears of refugee infl

By Alayna Treene, Kevin Liptak, CNN

(CNN) — President Donald Trump, facing a red line of his own making in Iran, increasingly believes he must take decisive action against the regime amid a violent and deadly crackdown on protesters, according to officials familiar with the matter.

Top Trump administration officials met Tuesday to further refine a set of options for the president. Trump, who joined the two-hour-plus meeting after landing back in Washington from a trip to Michigan, was also briefed on the latest death toll figures in Iran and US expectations for how the regime’s brutal crackdown might proceed, including the prospect of executions. He was shown video from the ground in Iran as part of the briefing, a person familiar with the meeting said.

In recent days, the president’s national security team has been split on whether to move forward with a kinetic strike, a source familiar with the discussions said. US officials insisted any such military move would not include boots on the ground and said the administration does not want protracted military involvement in Iran.

One option before the president is a strike on facilities related to Iran’s security services, which have been responsible for the crackdown on protesters, according to people familiar with the matter.

As they deliberate and weigh options, officials have worked to assess the various risks involved with each, including the possibility of an air strike mission going awry or prompting an outsized Iranian response. Officials also hope to avoid any broad destabilization in the region should Iran’s regime collapse.

Trump has repeatedly been threatening military action against the Iranian government for using deadly force against protesters, and he now feels obligated to follow through, according to officials. He is mindful of previous presidents who he believes failed to enforce red lines. Those include former President Barack Obama, who decided not to strike in Syria after its use of chemical weapons in 2013.

“Part of it is that he has now set a red line, and he feels he needs to do something,” a source familiar with the talks told CNN, adding that the president is almost certainly going to act. The question that remains, they added, is what type of action he ultimately lands on.

A key calculation in the decision-making process is whether the benefits of military action outweigh potential retaliation from Tehran, which has insisted it will target American assets in the Middle East if the US strikes.

Recent US intelligence reports indicate Iran is preparing options to target American bases in the Middle East, including those in Iraq and Syria, if Trump carries out military strikes, according to a US official and another source familiar with the matter.

There are also indications that the Iranian regime was surprised by the size of the protests and is currently trying to balance controlling the protesters with not giving foreign governments a reason to intervene — in part by restricting funerals for those who have been killed and cutting off internet access inside the country, the US official added.

Trump shrugged off concerns about retaliation on Tuesday, telling reporters: “Iran said that the last time I blew them up with the nuclear capability, which they do

By Veronica Stracqualursi, Annie Grayer, CNN

(CNN) — Contempt proceedings will officially move forward against both Clintons on Capitol Hill after Hillary Clinton failed to appear for a deposition in the House Oversight Committee’s Jeffrey Epstein probe.

Republican Chairman James Comer said Wednesday that the panel will meet in a week to consider contempt of Congress charges against the former secretary of state and former President Bill Clinton. If passed by committee, Comer said it will head to a full vote on the House floor.

“We’re going to hold both Clintons in criminal contempt of Congress,” Comer told reporters.

The panel issued subpoenas to the Clintons in August for depositions and had been privately negotiating with their legal counsel to try to set a date for them to appear for closed-door interviews. The former president first refused to appear for his deposition Tuesday, and Hillary Clinton was also not expected to appear as the pair released a detailed legal argument and personal defense in a series of letters to the committee.

“I think what’s most disappointing to the Oversight Committee is the fact that we have, in good faith, negotiated with the Clintons’ attorneys for five months. Throughout the past five months, they’ve implied to us that they were trying to make a date work,” Comer said.

The Clintons have asserted in letters that they’re being unfairly singled out and that the panel’s subpoenas are “invalid and legally unenforceable.” The Clintons wrote to Comer that they’d be willing to testify in a public hearing before the committee.

Asked if he’d be willing to hold an open hearing, the Kentucky Republican said “that’s something we can talk about,” adding: “But you remember Hunter Biden said that and he never did show.”

“The Democrats are trying to stall, hoping that something else will happen. They’re wanting to turn the attention off of the Clintons,” he argued.

A successful contempt vote by the GOP-controlled House would be both symbolic — as a rebuke to the Clintons — but could also be used as a tool to compel them to testify. It could have legal consequences if they continue to resist cooperation and the courts decide to take it up.

A vote by the full House to hold the Clintons in criminal contempt of Congress would set up a referral to the Department of Justice, which would then have to decide whether to prosecute.

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By Ivana Kottasová, Victoria Butenko, CNN

(CNN) — Ukraine estimates that 200,000 of its soldiers are absent without official leave (AWOL), meaning they have left their positions without permission to do so, the country’s new Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov revealed on Wednesday.

Speaking in the Ukrainian Parliament ahead of the vote that confirmed him as the new defense chief, Fedorov also said some 2 million Ukrainians are “wanted” for avoiding military service.

The Ukrainian military has been under strain for years as it tries to defend the country against a much bigger and stronger enemy. Conditions along the frontline have been brutal, with Kyiv’s troops often trying to hold onto key positions even as they find themselves outmanned and outgunned.

Rumours of low morale and high desertion rates have been swirling around for a long time, but Fedorov’s comments mark the first time any Ukrainian official has disclosed the scale of the problem.

Under Ukrainian law, all men between the ages of 18 and 60 are required to register with the military and always have their documents on them, although only those aged 25 to 60 are subject to mobilization.

Ukraine’s martial law bars all men aged 23 to 60 who are eligible for military service from leaving the country, but tens of thousands have fled illegally.

After meeting with Fedorov on Wednesday, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said that “broader changes” were needed to the country’s mobilization process.

Fedorov is the youngest person ever to serve as Ukraine’s defense minister — he will turn 35 next week. He replaced Denys Shmyhal, who in turn became Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Energy.

Fedorov previously served as Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation, a role in which he oversaw, among others, Ukraine’s successful drone warfare project. Speaking on Wednesday, he said Ukraine’s manpower problems made technological advances even more important.

“More robots means fewer losses, more technology means fewer deaths. The lives of Ukrainian heroes are of the highest value,” he said.

He said there were now 500 Ukrainian companies producing drones, 200 businesses making jamming equipment and over 20 privately-owned missiles producers.

Strengthening the technological component of the military will be one of Fedorov’s priorities in his new role, Zelensky said.

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