US evacuates Mideast personnel due to expected reciprocal attacks between Israel, Iran: Report
WASHINGTON
The U.S. has evacuated personnel from locations in the Middle East as it expects reciprocal attacks between Israel and Iran, CBS News reported Wednesday, citing multiple sources.
U.S. officials received information that Israel stands "fully ready to launch an operation into Iran," it said.
Washington believes that Iran could retaliate against American sites in neighboring Iraq following any Israeli strike, prompting the evacuation advisory, according to the news outlet.
The State Department ordered the departure of non-emergency government personnel from Iraq on Wednesday due to "heightened regional tensions."
"The Department of State requires U.S. government personnel in Iraq to live and work under strict security due to serious threats," said the travel advisory.
Currently, the U.S. has a level 4 travel advisory to Iraq, which corresponds to "do not travel."
"Do not travel to Iraq due to terrorism, kidnapping, armed conflict, civil unrest and the U.S. government’s limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in Iraq," says the State Department's advisory.
Despite escalating tensions, White House envoy Steve Witkoff plans to proceed with a sixth round of indirect Iran-U.S. nuclear negotiations scheduled for Sunday in Oman, according to CBS.
Oman also said Thursday it will host a sixth round of nuclear talks between the United States and Iran over the weekend amid escalating tensions between the long-time foes.
"I am pleased to confirm the 6th round of Iran US talks will be held in Muscat this Sunday," Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said in a post on X.
U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed Wednesday that American personnel face evacuation because regional locations "could be a dangerous place."
"President Trump is committed to keeping Americans safe, both at home and abroad," a State Department official told Anadolu Agency. "Based on our latest analysis, we decided to reduce our mission in Iraq."
The extent of the evacuation, including whether it includes all U.S. diplomatic staff, remains unclear.
Trump also reiterated that he would not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon, amid mounting speculation that Israel could strike Tehran's facilities.
Iran threatened Wednesday to target U.S. military bases in the region if conflict breaks out.
A U.S. official had earlier said that staff levels at the embassy in Iraq were being reduced over security concerns, while there were reports that personnel were also being moved from Kuwait and Bahrain.
"Well they are being moved out because it could be a dangerous place," Trump told reporters in Washington when asked about the reports of personnel being moved.
"We've given notice to move out and we'll see what happens."
Trump then added: "They can't have a nuclear weapon, very simple. We're not going to allow that."
Tehran and Washington have held five rounds of talks since April to thrash out a new nuclear deal to replace the 2015 accord that Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018.
The two sides were due to meet again in coming days.
Trump had until recently expressed optimism about the talks, but said in an interview published Wednesday that he was "less confident" about reaching a nuclear deal.
Since returning to office in January, Trump has revived his "maximum pressure" campaign on Tehran, backing nuclear diplomacy but warning of military action if it fails.
The U.S. president says he has pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold off striking Iran's nuclear facilities to give the talks a chance, but has increasingly signaled that he is losing patience.
Iran however warned it would respond to any attack.
"All its bases are within our reach, we have access to them, and without hesitation we will target all of them in the host countries," Iran's Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said in response to U.S. threats of military action if the talks fail.
'Suffer more losses'
"God willing, things won't reach that point, and the talks will succeed," the minister said, adding that the U.S. side "will suffer more losses" if it came to conflict.
The United States has multiple bases in the Middle East, with the largest located in Qatar.
In January 2020, Iran fired missiles at bases in Iraq housing American troops in retaliation for the U.S. strike that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani days before at the Baghdad airport.
Dozens of U.S. soldiers suffered traumatic brain injuries.
Amid the escalating tensions, the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations, run by the British navy, also advised ships to transit the Gulf with caution.
Iran and the United States have recently been locked in a diplomatic standoff over Iran's uranium enrichment, with Tehran defending it as a "non-negotiable" right and Washington calling it a "red line."
Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 percent, far above the 3.67-percent limit set in the 2015 deal and close though still short of the 90 percent needed for a nuclear warhead.
Western countries have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire atomic weapons, while Tehran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
Last week, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said enrichment is "key" to Iran's nuclear program and that Washington "cannot have a say" on the issue.
During an interview with the New York Post's podcast "Pod Force One," which was recorded on Monday, Trump said he was losing hope a deal could be reached.
"I don't know. I did think so, and I'm getting more and more — less confident about it. They seem to be delaying and I think that's a shame. I am less confident now than I would have been a couple of months ago," he said.
Iran has said it will present a counter-proposal to the latest draft from Washington, which it had criticised for failing to offer relief from sanctions — a key demand for Tehran, which has been reeling under their weight for years.
