US evacuates personnel from Middle East in sign of growing regional tension

US broadcaster CBS reports White House determination to determination embassy unit and dependants partially owed to Israeli preparations for onslaught connected Iran.

The United States is preparing a partial evacuation of its embassy successful Iraq and has authorised “the voluntary departure” of dependants of US unit from locations crossed the Middle East, including Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, arsenic regional information concerns rise.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said successful a connection connected Wednesday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had authorised the departure of subject dependants successful the portion and that CENTCOM was “monitoring the processing tension”.

Orders for each nonessential unit to depart the US Embassy successful Baghdad – which was already connected constricted staffing – was based connected a committedness “to keeping Americans safe, some astatine location and abroad”, the Department of State said.

Speaking connected Wednesday evening, US President Donald Trump said the bid to determination unit retired had been fixed due to the fact that the portion “could beryllium a unsafe place”.

“We’ll spot what happens. We’ve fixed announcement to determination out, and we’ll spot what happens,” Trump said.

Trump past added successful reference to Iran: “They can’t person a atomic weapon, precise simple. We’re not going to let that.”

Uncertainty has been increasing successful caller days arsenic talks betwixt the US and Iran implicit its atomic programme look to person deed an impasse.

US quality broadcaster CBS reported precocious connected Wednesday that US officials person been informed that Israel is “fully ready” to motorboat an attack connected Iran and that Washington “anticipates” that Tehran could retaliate by targeting “certain American sites successful neighbouring Iraq”.

Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher, reporting from Washington, DC, said determination person been wide signs successful caller days of high-level discussions betwixt elder subject officials and the Trump medication amid interest astir the ongoing talks with Iran implicit its atomic programme.

“Donald Trump has successful the past mates of days … expressed his interest that a woody mightiness not beryllium capable to beryllium done,” Fisher said.

“Therefore, we are seeing, effectively, the partial evacuation of the embassy successful Baghdad with non-military unit and non-essential unit being moved out. And the voluntary evacuation of different embassies successful the region,” helium said.

“They’ve done this benignant of happening before,” Fisher said, noting the Baghdad embassy was partially evacuated antecedently implicit “concerns that the embassy could go a people for Iranian-aligned militias successful Iraq”.

“Clearly, determination is immoderate interest that the discussions with the Iranians aren’t going well. Or, it could beryllium that this is each designed to enactment unit connected Iranians. Because, you volition remember, that Donald Trump said that if they couldn’t get immoderate benignant of deal, past … determination could beryllium immoderate benignant of subject enactment against the Iranians.”

As reports of US embassy unit and dependants departing the Middle East portion emerged, Iran’s ngo to the United Nations posted connected societal media that “Iran is not seeking a atomic weapon, and US militarism lone fuels instability”.

“Threats of ‘overwhelming force’ won’t alteration the facts,” the Iranian ngo said.

“Diplomacy – not militarism – is the lone way forward,” it added.

Threats of “overwhelming force” won’t alteration facts:
Iran is not seeking a atomic weapon, and U.S. militarism lone fuels instability.

CENTCOM’s bequest of fueling determination instability, done arming aggressors and enabling Israeli crimes, strips it of immoderate credibility to talk on…

— I.R.IRAN Mission to UN, NY (@Iran_UN) June 11, 2025

Separately, Iranian Defence Minister General Aziz Nasirzadeh told reporters earlier that helium hoped talks with the US would beryllium successful, though Tehran stood acceptable to respond to immoderate aggression.

“If struggle is imposed connected us, the opponent’s casualties volition surely beryllium much than ours, and successful that case, America indispensable permission the region, due to the fact that each its bases are wrong our reach,” helium said.

“We person entree to them, and we volition people each of them successful the big countries without hesitation.”

The adjacent circular of talks – the sixth – betwixt the US and Iran connected limits to Tehran’s atomic programme successful speech for lifting sanctions connected the state person been tentatively scheduled for this play successful Oman, according to reports, and Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, is inactive scheduled to attend.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies