The United States has begun decreasing the number of staffers present at its embassies in the Middle East due to heightened security risk.
The State Department ordered the departure of all nonessential personnel and their families at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad—which already has limited staffing—on June 11 after its latest review, citing its commitment “to keeping Americans safe, both at home and abroad.”
It also authorized the optional departure of nonessential staff and families from the U.S. embassies in Bahrain and Kuwait, which means that they would be able to evacuate at the government’s expense.
U.S. Central Command released a statement confirming that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “has authorized the voluntary departure of military dependents from locations” across the region, as it continues “monitoring the developing tension in the Middle East.”…