The United States is withdrawing some non-essential staffers who are not deemed necessary to operations in the Middle East and their loved ones, the State Department announced on Wednesday.
According to US officials and sources familiar with the efforts, the US State and Defense departments attempted on Wednesday to coordinate the withdrawal of non-essential personnel from several locations throughout the Middle East.
Although the reason for the abrupt shift is not known, a defense official stated that US Central Command is keeping an eye on “developing tension in the Middle East.”
The scheduled departures come at a time when there is escalation of tensions between Israel and Iran as the Trump administration continues to pursue a new nuclear deal with Iran.
“They are being moved out because it could be a dangerous place, and we’ll see what happens. But they have been or we’ve given notice to move out, and we’ll see what happens,” US President Donald Trump told reporters at a Kennedy Center event on Wednesday.
The departure of military dependents from locations throughout the Middle East has been authorised by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, an official said.
“The safety and security of our service members and their families remains our highest priority and U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) is monitoring the developing tension in the Middle East. Gen. Michael Kurilla, the CENTCOM commander, postponed testimony he was due to give in front of a Senate committee on Thursday due to the tensions, a defense official said.
According to another US official and another source familiar with the situation, the State Department is also getting ready to order the withdrawal of non-essential staff from the US embassies in Iraq, Bahrain, and Kuwait because of the region’s high security risks.
Non-essential staff would also be asked to leave the US consulate in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan. According to a government official in Iraq, the withdrawal of staff was not related to his country’s security posture.
A State Department official said when asked about the change in posture said, “President Trump is committed to keeping Americans safe, both at home and abroad. In keeping with that commitment, we are constantly assessing the appropriate personnel posture at all our embassies. Based on our latest analysis, we decided to reduce the footprint of our Mission in Iraq.”
The department added that non-emergency US government personnel had been told to leave “due to heightened regional tensions” in an update to its travel advisory on Wednesday.
In a recent interview, Trump expressed his growing doubts about his ability to reach an agreement with Iran that would limit the nation’s nuclear ambitions, speculating that Tehran might be “delaying” such a deal.
“I’m getting more and more less confident about it. They seem to be delaying, and I think that’s a shame, but I’m less confident now than I would have been a couple of months ago,” Trump said in podcast released on Wednesday.
Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a phone conversation on Monday. Additionally, according to a source familiar with the meeting, CNN reported on Wednesday that Trump told Netanyahu to stop threats of attack on Iran.
Iran’s defense minister issued a warning on Wednesday that the US would be “forced to leave the region” if the nuclear negotiations with the latter fail and there is conflict.