US prepares to evacuate non-essential staff from Middle East as regional tension flares

Iranian Defence Minister says Tehran will strike US bases in the region if nuclear talks fail and conflict arises

The US State Department on Wednesday began preparing to evacuate non-essential staff from the American embassy in Baghdad as regional tension flares over faltering efforts between Washington and Tehran to reach a nuclear deal.

At the same time, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth authorised the departure of military dependants from locations across the region. Personnel from US embassies in Kuwait and Bahrain were reportedly on standby to be moved.

"They are being moved out because it could be a dangerous place," President Donald Trump told reporters. "We've given notice to move out and we'll see what happens. [Iran] can't have a nuclear weapon. Very simply, they can't have a nuclear weapon, we’re not going to allow that.”

UN nuclear watchdog finds Iran in breach of non-proliferation duties

Read More

His comments came as the US and Iran hit an apparent impasse over talks to constrain Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear programme. Mr Trump has repeatedly asked ally Israel not to conduct a strike against Iran as talks continue.

Mr Trump said earlier that he was unsure Iran would agree to stop uranium enrichment in a nuclear deal, and Iran's Minister of Defence Aziz Nasirzadeh said Tehran will strike US bases in the region if nuclear talks fail and conflict arises with Washington.

Mr Trump told a New York Post podcast that he was “much less confident of a deal being made".

“They seem to be delaying, and I think that’s a shame,” the US President said in the interview recorded on Monday and released on Wednesday.

Mr Trump, who has previously said Israel or the US could strike Iranian nuclear facilities if negotiations failed, on Monday said that a sixth round of talks with Iran would begin this week. But Wednesday's tensions made new negotiations appear less likely.

Iran’s mission to the UN posted on social media that “threats of overwhelming force won’t change the facts".

“Iran is not seeking a nuclear weapon and US militarism only fuels instability,” the mission wrote.

On Tuesday, Central Command chief Gen Michael Kurilla said he had provided Mr Trump with options that could be used against Iran if Tehran and Washington fail to reach a new nuclear deal.

The State Department said it conducts a constant assessment of “the appropriate personnel posture at all our embassies”.

“President Trump is committed to keeping Americans safe, both at home and abroad,” a department representative said in a statement to The National. “Based on our latest analysis, we decided to reduce our mission in Iraq.”

A US defence official told The National that Centcom is "monitoring the developing tension in the Middle East".

"Centcom is working in close co-ordination with our Department of State counterparts, as well as our allies and partners in the region to maintain a constant state of readiness," the official said. Centcom did not announce any troop movements.

A senior Iraqi diplomat told The National that the State Department informed the country that the withdrawal of non-essential personnel was due to heightened security risks.

Iraqi Security Forces vehicles line up in the street outside the US embassy compound in Baghdad, on January 1, 2020. Photo: Pentagon

Bahrain, home of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, hosts about 9,000 US troops. The US also has a military presence in Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Syria and the UAE.

An Iraqi government official told the state news agency that the embassy evacuation relates to "procedures concerning the American diplomatic presence in a number of Middle Eastern countries, and are not specific to Iraq alone".

"The Iraqi side has not recorded any security indicators that would necessitate evacuation," the official added.

Earlier, Mr Nasirzadeh said Tehran was prepared to attack American bases in the region.

“If conflict is imposed on us the opponent’s casualties will certainly be more than ours, and in that case America must leave the region, because all its bases are within our reach,” he said. “We have access to them and we will target all of them in the host countries without hesitation.”

The Baghdad embassy has already been operating on limited staff, and the order will not affect a large number of personnel.

Meanwhile, the UK Maritime Trade Operations on Wednesday said in an advisory note that it was aware of increased tension in the Middle East that could lead to an escalation of military activity having a direct impact on mariners.

The UKMTO advised ships to use caution when passing through the Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz.

Iraqi counter-terrorism troops stand guard in front of the US embassy in the capital Baghdad on January 2, 2020. AFP