White House to move embassy staff and dependants partly due to
Israeli preparations for attack on Iran.

US Evacuates Personnel from Middle East
in Sign of Growing Regional Tension
Al Jazeera

(June 12, 2025) — The United States is preparing a partial evacuation of its embassy in Iraq and has authorised “the voluntary departure” of dependants of US personnel from locations across the Middle East, including Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, as regional security concerns rise.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement on Wednesday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had authorised the departure of military dependants in the region and that CENTCOM was “monitoring the developing tension”.

Orders for all nonessential personnel to depart the US Embassy in Baghdad – which was already on limited staffing – was based on a commitment “to keeping Americans safe, both at home and abroad”, the Department of State said.

Speaking on Wednesday evening, US President Donald Trump said the order to move staff out had been given because the region “could be a dangerous place”.

“We’ll see what happens. We’ve given notice to move out, and we’ll see what happens,” Trump said.

Trump then added in reference to Iran: “They can’t have a nuclear weapon, very simple. We’re not going to allow that.”

Uncertainty has been growing in recent days as talks between the US and Iran over its nuclear programme appear to have hit an impasse.

US news broadcaster CBS reported late on Wednesday that US officials have been informed that Israel is “fully ready” to launch an attack on Iran and that Washington “anticipates” that Tehran could retaliate by targeting “certain American sites in neighbouring Iraq”.