Due to the possibility of regional unrest, the State Department and military announced on Wednesday that the United States is reducing the presence of staff members and their families who are not considered essential to operations in the Middle East. According to the State Department, it has instructed all non-essential personnel to leave the United States. Embassy in Baghdad based on its most recent evaluation and a promise to “keep Americans safe, both at home and abroad.” The embassy already had been on limited staffing, and the order will not affect a large number of personnel.
The department, however, also is authorizing the departure of nonessential personnel and family members from Bahrain and Kuwait. That gives them the option of leaving those nations with assistance and at the expense of the government. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “has authorized the voluntary departure of military dependents from locations” across the region, U.S. Central Command said in a statement. The command “is monitoring the developing tension in the Middle East.” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly confirmed the moves.
“The State Department regularly reviews American personnel abroad, and this decision was made as a result of a recent review,” Kelly said.
Global News has asked Global Affairs Canada if it is conducting a similar drawdown of Canadian diplomatic staff in the region.
The top U.S. military officer for the Middle East, Gen. 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 did not have an immediate comment on why Kurilla’s testimony was postponed.
Tensions in the region have been rising in recent days as talks between the U.S. and Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program appear to have hit an impasse. The talks seek to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions that the U.S. has imposed on the Islamic Republic. According to two U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss diplomatic matters, the sixth round of talks had been tentatively scheduled for this weekend in Oman. Iran insists that its nuclear program is peaceful. However, those officials said Wednesday that it looked increasingly unlikely that the talks would happen.President Donald Trump, who has previously said Israel or the U.S. could carry out airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities if negotiations failed, gave a less-than-optimistic view about reaching a deal with Iran, telling the New York Post’s “Pod Force One” podcast that he was “getting more and more less confident about” a deal.
U.S. reducing diplomatic, military presence in Middle East as tensions rise
