US pulls some embassy staff from Middle East as Iran tensions rise
The US has ordered the departure of non-essential embassy staff and their families from the Middle East over heightened security concerns in the region.
The decision comes amid an apparent impasse in US-Iran nuclear talks, with US President Donald Trump saying he was "less confident" the pair would reach a deal.
The US State Department on Wednesday announced it would be partially evacuating personnel from the US embassy in Baghdad to "keep Americans safe, both home and abroad."
The US embassy in Baghdad already operates at limited staffing due to security risks, and the order will not affect a large number of personnel.
The department has also authorised the departure of non-essential personnel and family members from its embassies in Bahrain and Kuwait.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth authorised the 'voluntary departure of military dependents from locations' across the region, US Central Command said in a statement. The command 'is monitoring the developing tension in the Middle East.'
Earlier Wednesday, the UK's maritime agency issued a warning to ships in the region that an escalation of tensions could impact shipping. It advised vessels to be cautious in the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and the Strait of Hormuz — waterways that all border Iran.
Iraq's state-run Iraqi News Agency said the evacuation of some nonessential employees from the US Embassy in Baghdad was part of 'procedures related to the US diplomatic presence in a number of Middle Eastern countries, not just Iraq,' adding that Iraqi officials 'have not recorded any security indicators that warrant an evacuation.'
Tensions have escalated recently amid a deadlock in negotiations between the US and Iran over Tehran's advancing nuclear program. The ongoing Israel-Hamas war — now over 18 months — has heightened concerns of a broader conflict that could draw in the US, Israel, Iran and its regional allies.
Speaking at the Kennedy Centre in Washington on Wednesday, Trump said staff were being "moved out, because it could be a dangerous place. We'll see what happens."
When asked if there was anything that could be done to reduce tensions in the region, Trump responded that Tehran "can't have a nuclear weapon, firstly."
Talks between Washington and Tehran seek to limit Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for relief from the crushing economic sanctions the US has placed on the country. Iran says its nuclear programme is peaceful.
The next and sixth round of talks, which had been tentatively scheduled for this weekend in Oman, now looks increasingly likely to be cancelled, according to two officials who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.
In a separate interview with the New York Post's 'Pod Force One' podcast, Trump said he was "getting more and more less confident about' a deal.
'They seem to be delaying, and I think that's a shame. I'm less confident now than I would have been a couple of months ago. Something happened to them," he said in the interview released on Wednesday.
Iran's mission to the UN posted on social media that 'threats of overwhelming force won't change the facts."
US militarism "only fuels instability," the mission claimed.
Iranian Defence Minister General Aziz Nasirzadeh separately told journalists Wednesday that Tehran would be ready to respond to airstrikes.
'If conflict is imposed on us, the opponent's casualties will certainly be more than ours, and in that case, America must leave the region, because all its bases are within our reach,' he said.
'We have access to them, and we will target all of them in the host countries without hesitation.'
Amid growing tensions with Tehran, the top US military officer for the Middle East, General Erik Kurilla, was scheduled to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday, but that testimony has now been postponed, according to the committee's website. The Pentagon has not commented on the postponement.
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