U.S. embassies and military bases across the region are on high alert.
The United States is on high alert in anticipation of a potential Israeli strike on Iran, with the State Department authorizing the evacuation of some personnel in Iraq and the Pentagon green-lighting the departure of military family members across the Middle East.
The heightened security environment comes as President Donald Trump expresses dimming hopes of achieving a deal with Iran that would restrict its nuclear program and forestall a potentially cataclysmal new military confrontation in the Middle East.
“I’m less confident now than I would have been a couple of months ago. Something happened to them, but I am much less confident of a deal being made,” Trump told the New York Post.
In recent months, U.S. intelligence officials have grown increasingly concerned that Israel may choose to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities without the consent of the United States. Such a move would almost certainly scuttle the Trump administration’s delicate nuclear negotiations and prompt an Iranian retaliation on U.S. assets in the region.
Tehran has long said the United States, as Israel’s biggest military and political supporter, would suffer consequences in the event of an Israeli strike on Iran.
The State Department recently ordered all embassies within striking distance of Iranian assets — including missions in the Middle East but also Eastern Europe and Northern Africa — to convene emergency action committees (EACs) and send cables back to Washington about measures to mitigate risks.
That procedure led to Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s decision on Wednesday to authorize the departure of nonessential personnel in Iraq.
“We are constantly assessing the appropriate personnel posture at all our embassies,” said a State Department official who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive security matter. “Based on our latest analysis, we decided to reduce the footprint of our Mission in Iraq.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, meanwhile, has authorized the “voluntary departure” of military family members from installations across the Middle East, said a defense official.
By John Hudson, Karen DeYoung, Dan Lamothe and Adam Taylor
