US state department official says it’s ‘prudent’ to reduce their footprint to essential personnel
Washington has evacuated dozens of non-essential personnel from its embassy in Lebanon as US ships and warplanes have been positioned in the region for a potential strike against Iran in the coming days.
The diplomatic drawdown followed reports that dozens of US personnel had been evacuated through Lebanon’s Beirut-Rafic Hariri international airport to protect them from a possible Iranian counterattack if tensions between the US and Iran escalate into war. Roughly 30-50 US embassy personnel have left the country, estimates suggest.
The US and Iran are scheduled to hold a third round of indirect talks in Geneva on Thursday on limiting Iran’s nuclear programme. Donald Trump has said that he wants a “meaningful deal” that will prevent Iran from seeking to build a nuclear weapon and warned that “bad things” would happen if no deal was made.
The US has evacuated personnel from its embassies and military bases as part of its preparations for armed conflict with Iran in the past. In 2025, the US temporarily evacuated non-essential personnel from embassies in Iraq, Bahrain and Kuwait before launching strikes on Iranian uranium enrichment and other facilities linked to its nuclear programme.
