US to pull some personnel from the Middle East amid rising tensions with Iran

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that US personnel were being moved out of the Middle East because “it could be a dangerous place”, adding that the United States would not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.

Reuters reported earlier on Wednesday that the US is preparing a partial evacuation of its Iraqi embassy and will allow military dependents to leave locations around the Middle East due to heightened security risks in the region, according to US and Iraqi sources.

The four US and two Iraqi sources did not say what security risks had prompted the decision, and reports of the potential evacuation pushed up oil prices by more than four per cent.

A US official said the State Department had authorised voluntary departures from Bahrain and Kuwait.

The State Department updated its worldwide travel advisory on Wednesday evening to reflect the latest US posture. “On June 11, the Department of State ordered the departure of non-emergency US government personnel due to heightened regional tensions,” the advisory said.

The decision by the US to evacuate some personnel comes at a volatile moment in the region. Trump’s efforts to reach a nuclear deal with Iran appear to be deadlocked, and US intelligence indicates that Israel has been making preparations for a strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities.

“They are being moved out because it could be a dangerous place, and we’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters. “We’ve given notice to move out.”

Asked whether anything can be done to lower the temperature in the region, Trump said: “They can’t have a nuclear weapon. Very simple, they can’t have a nuclear weapon.”

Trump has repeatedly threatened to strike Iran if stuttering talks over its nuclear programme fail. In an interview released earlier on Wednesday, Trump said that he was growing less confident that Tehran would agree to stop enriching uranium, a key American demand.

Iranian Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh also said yesterday that if Iran was subjected to strikes, it would retaliate by hitting US bases in the region.

The US embassy in Kuwait said in a statement that it had “not changed its staffing posture and remains fully operational.”

Military presence

The US has a military presence across the major oil-producing region, with bases in Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has authorised the voluntary departure of military dependents from locations across the Middle East, a US official said. Another US official said that it was mostly relevant to family members located in Bahrain — where the bulk of them are based.

“The State Department is set to have an ordered departure for [the] US embassy in Baghdad. The intent is to do it through commercial means, but the US military is standing by if help is requested,” a third US official said.

Iraq’s state news agency cited a government source as saying Baghdad had not recorded any security indication that called for an evacuation.

Another US official said that there was no change in operations at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest US military base in the Middle East and that no evacuation order had been issued for employees or families linked to the US embassy in Qatar, which was operating as usual.

Tensions

Oil futures climbed $3 on reports of the Baghdad evacuation, with Brent crude futures at $69.18 a barrel.

Earlier on Wednesday, Britain’s maritime agency warned that increased tensions in the Middle East may lead to an escalation in military activity that could impact shipping in critical waterways. It advised vessels to use caution while travelling through the Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the Straits of Hormuz, which all border Iran.

Britain’s Foreign Office said it was monitoring the situation and would keep its embassy in Iraq under constant review following the US moves.

Iraq, a rare regional partner of both the US and its arch-regional foe Iran, hosts 2,500 US troops, although allegedly Tehran-backed armed factions are linked to its security forces.

Tensions inside Iraq have heightened since the start of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza in October 2023, with armed groups in the country repeatedly attacking US troops, though attacks have subsided since last year.

Israel and Iran also twice exchanged fire last year — the first ever such direct attacks between the region’s most entrenched enemies — with missiles and war drones hurtling across Iraqi airspace.

Top US regional ally Israel has also struck targets across the region, including Iraqi armed groups operating both inside Iraq and in neighbouring Syria.

In recent months, the US has deployed more military assets in the Middle East, including B-2 bombers, which have since been replaced, and extended the deployment of a second aircraft carrier, which has since departed.

The next round of nuclear talks between Iran and the US is due in the coming days, with Iran expected to hand over a counterproposal after rejecting an offer by Washington.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters that a military threat had always been part of the US’s negotiation tactics with Iran.

“Any military action against Iran, whether by the US or Israel, will have serious consequences,” the official warned.

Iran’s UN mission yesterday posted on X: “Threats of ‘overwhelming force’ won’t change facts: Iran is not seeking a nuclear weapon and US militarism only fuels instability.”

The statement appeared to be a response to an earlier comment by US Army General Michael “Erik” Kurilla, the head of US Central Command, that he had provided the president with “a wide range of options” to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran.

Kurilla postponed testimony he was due to deliver before US lawmakers today because of tensions in the Middle East, two other US officials said.