The US is reducing the presence of non-essential personnel in the Middle East amid rising tensions with Iran due to US threats to bomb the country if diplomacy fails.
US officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the military has authorized the “voluntary departure” of the dependents of US troops from locations across the region.
The US is also evacuating personnel from its embassy in Iraq. A State Department official told Al-Monitor that the US is “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 State Department has authorized the departure of non-essential personnel at its embassies in Kuwait and Bahrain, providing them with the option to leave rather than a mandatory evacuation.
The news came after Iran’s defense minister warned that Tehran would hit US bases in the region in response to any US attack. President Trump has been threatening to bomb Iran if he fails to reach a nuclear deal, and he continues to publicly demand the elimination of Tehran’s nuclear enrichment program, which is a non-starter for Iranian officials.
Amid the news that the US is evacuating its embassy in Baghdad, Iran’s mission to the UN reiterated in a post on X that Tehran is not seeking a nuclear weapon.
“Threats of ‘overwhelming force’ won’t change facts: Iran is not seeking a nuclear weapon, and US militarism only fuels instability,” the mission said. “Diplomacy—not militarism—is the only path forward.”