The U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, ordered the evacuation of nonessential personnel due to the tension between the United States and Iran, a senior State Department official confirmed to the Washington Examiner.
The official said the latest review “determined” it would be “prudent to reduce” its footprint in Lebanon, though “the Embassy remains operational with core staff in place.”
“The Department of State has ordered the departure of non-emergency U.S. government personnel and eligible family members from U.S. Embassy Beirut,” the senior State Department official said. “We continuously assess the security environment, and based on our latest review, we determined it prudent to reduce our footprint to essential personnel.”
Also on Monday, the department issued a “Do Not Travel” advisory to Lebanon citing “crime, terrorism, civil unrest, kidnapping, unexploded landmines, and the risk of armed conflict.”
The Trump administration is seeking to negotiate a new agreement with Iran over its nuclear program, though the two sides have yet to make a breakthrough. Amid the negotiations, however, President Donald Trump has ordered a significant military presence to head to the region.
Over the weekend, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, said in an interview on Fox News that Trump is “curious” why Iran hasn’t made a deal and ended the standoff.
AS TRUMP RATCHETS UP PRESSURE ON IRAN, BOTH SIDES SEEK OFF-RAMP
“Why haven’t they capitulated?” he said. “Why under this sort of pressure, with the amount of sea power, naval power, that we have over there, why they haven’t come to us and said, we profess that we don’t want a weapon?”
The two sides are expected to meet on Thursday in Geneva, Switzerland, for the latest round of talks.
Trump confirmed last Friday that he is “considering” approving a limited strike on Iran to further pressure the country into capitulating to American demands. If he ultimately decides to authorize a more sprawling military operation, it could risk a more significant Iranian retaliatory response, unlike its perfunctory retaliation after the U.S. bombed three of Iran’s nuclear facilities last June.
One of Iran’s most powerful proxy forces in the region is Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon. Israel and Hezbollah engaged in a limited war after Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack in Israel that destabilized the region.
While Israel’s military largely killed Hezbollah’s senior leaders, the U.S.-designated terrorist organization could participate in an Iranian response, possibly by targeting Israel.
“I’m telling you clearly: Israel has never been stronger than it is now,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday. “Te alliance with the United States has never been tighter than it is now. We are a people with eyes wide open and prepared for every scenario. I have made it clear to the ayatollah regime – if they attack Israel, we will respond with a force they cannot even imagine.”
The president approved Operation Midnight Hammer, the strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities during the Israel-Iran 12-day war, after similar negotiations failed.
US-IRAN CONFLICT: ALL SIDES BRACE FOR WAR AS ‘NOTHING BURGER’ NUCLEAR NEGOTIATIONS PROVE FRUITLESS
The U.S. has 30,000 to 40,000 troops stationed in the Middle East, and any U.S. military base could be targeted in an Iranian retaliation, and the Iranians could target Israel as well. If Iran does carry out a significant response to a possible U.S. military operation, it poses the opportunity for the situation to spiral out of control and into a regional war.
Some experts believe Iranian leadership is possibly at its weakest point ever in its nearly 50-year existence, which those who argue in favor of a U.S. military operation say makes for a good opportunity to end the regime.
