The United States is reducing the number of people deemed nonessential to operations in the Middle East, the State Department announced on June 11 amid reports that the US Embassy in Baghdad is preparing for an emergency evacuation due to increased security risks in the region.
The United States is also authorizing nonessential personnel and family members to leave Bahrain and Kuwait, giving them a choice on whether to leave.
An Iraqi Foreign Ministry official confirmed the "limited departure" of US Embassy staff, saying the decision was based on "possible security concerns related to regional tensions."
US-Iran Nuclear Talks Stall Again
Tensions are on the rise in the region as nuclear negotiations between the United States and Iran appear to have hit an impasse and after 18 months of war in Gaza that has raised fears of a wider war.
The talks seek to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some of the economic sanctions that the United States has imposed on Iran, which insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
Iran has said the next round of talks with the United States will be held on June 15 in Oman. Iran has been working on a counteroffer after rejecting a US proposal for a deal that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei described as "100 percent" against national interests.
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff will meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Muscat and discuss the Iranian response, according to US media reports quoting a US official.
The United States has a military presence in Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
A US official said there had been no change in the status of al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest US military base in the Middle East, and that there had been no evacuation orders for employees or families associated with the US Embassy in Qatar, Reuters reported.
Trump: Iran 'Can't Have a Nuclear Weapon'
President Donald Trump said people are “being moved out” from the “dangerous” Middle East in response to a question about the reports that nonessential employees were given a chance to leave.
“We’ll see what happens,” Trump said as he entered the Kennedy Center in Washington for an evening performance. “They can’t have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said, referring to Iran and the nuclear talks.
In an interview published on June 11, Trump said his confidence that Iran would agree to a deal on its nuclear program was much lower than it was a few months ago.
Speaking in a New York Post podcast released on June 11, Trump said he does "not know" whether he could get Tehran to cease its nuclear activities.
"I don't know. I did think so, and I'm getting more and more -- less confident about it," the US president said.
“They seem to be delaying, and I think that’s a shame. I’m less confident now than I would have been a couple of months ago. Something happened to them,” he said in the interview, which was recorded on June 9.
Risk Of Conflict With Iran Grows
Trump has not ruled out military action against Iranian nuclear sites if diplomacy fails, and US intelligence suggests Israel has been preparing to strike Iran if negotiations collapse.
Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said earlier on June 11 that if the nuclear talks fail and a conflict with Washington breaks out, Tehran would retaliate by hitting US bases in the region.
Iran's UN mission posted a statement on X saying threats of the use of force "won't change facts: Iran is not seeking a nuclear weapon and U.S. militarism only fuels instability."
