The tour is scheduled to pitch up in the United Arab Emirates this month, with the HSBC Championship earmarked for January 16 to January 19 in Abu Dhabi and the Omega Desert Classic to be staged in Dubai a week later.

Following the events in the UAE, the European Tour is then scheduled to move to Saudi Arabia for the Saudi International tournament, which runs from January 30 to February 2.

The three tournaments constitute the so-called “Desert Swing,” which is part of the growing number of events the European Tour has hosted outside Europe in recent years in a bid to broaden its audience.

The world’s top golfers have been lured to the Middle East largely thanks to rich appearance fees, which are often worth million of dollars.

The escalation in political tension between Washington and Tehran provides a major headache for the European Tour.

Several Americans are scheduled to feature in the tournament in Abu Dhabi next week, including current world No. 1 Brooks Koepka, No. 6 Patrick Cantlay and No. 15 Bryson DeChambeau.

The latter said on Tuesday that he was “really not sure” if he would take part in the event, adding “no American is safe” in the current political climate.

“The safety of our players, staff and stakeholders and everyone involved in each and every one of our tournaments around the world is our top priority,” a spokesperson for the European Tour told Newsweek on Wednesday.

“The European Tour constantly monitors what is happening in all of our host countries, taking any safety advice from the relevant agencies where appropriate, and we will continue to do so for all of our tournaments around the world.”

It is not the first time the European Tour had faced a political challenge. In November last year, organizers of the Hong Kong Open opted to cancel the tournament amid concerns for the players and staff related during the anti-government protests in the semi-autonomous Chinese city.

The tournament, a co-sanctioned event with the Asian Tour, will eventually tee off on Thursday.

On Tuesday, just hours after Iranian forces launched missiles at a U.S. base in north-western Iraq, reports emerged indicating that Tehran had expressly indicated the UAE could be targeted should the U.S. respond.

According to Ali Arouzi, NBC’s Tehran Bureau Chief, Iran warned Washington that any retaliation for the attack it launched would lead to an escalation of the hostility which would target Dubai and Haifa, Israel’s third-largest city.

“Iraq is warning that if there is retaliation for the two waves of attacks they launched, their third wave will destroy Dubai and Haifa,” Arouzi quoted Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S., as saying.

Pentagon officials confirmed that Ayn al-Asad Air Base and other sites in Kurdistan’s Erbil were hit by cruise missiles and short-range ballistic missiles launched from within Iran Tuesday, with the IRGC claiming responsibility for the attacks.

In a statement, the group described the attack as revenge for the assassination of Major General Qassem Soleimani, who was killed last week near Baghdad International Airport in Iraq.

NBC News chief news correspondent Richard Engel added that Iran had threatened “mass escalation,” which involved attacking more bases in Iraq as well as “unleashing Hezbollah” and attacking both Dubai and Israel.

Following the strike on the U.S. base, President Donald Trump tweeted damages and casualties were being assessed.

“All is well! Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq,” Trump tweeted.

“Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now. So far, so good! We have the most powerful and well equipped military anywhere in the world, by far! I will be making a statement tomorrow morning.”