The United States has initiated a partial evacuation of non-essential personnel and military dependents from embassies and bases across the Middle East, signaling escalating tensions with Iran and fears of an unapproved Israeli strike on Tehran’s nuclear facilities. The move, which was authorized by the State Department and Pentagon this week, follows President Donald Trump’s accusation that Iran is deliberately stalling negotiations while continuing uranium enrichment in a direct violation of the defunct 2015 nuclear deal.
With voluntary departures already underway in Iraq, Kuwait, and Bahrain, the U.S. faces mounting pressure to de-escalate a crisis exacerbated by U.S. support for Israel’s military operations in Gaza, which Tehran and its regional proxies have condemned as genocide. Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has warned it will retaliate against U.S. bases if attacked, raising the specter of a broader regional war.
A dangerous chess game
The evacuation orders, described by Trump as precautionary, underscore Washington’s assessment that the Middle East “could be a dangerous place” in the coming weeks. Reports from U.S. intelligence officials suggest Israel may be preparing unilateral action against Iran’s nuclear sites in a scenario that the White House has neither endorsed nor outright denied.
