Washington [US], June 12: The US is preparing to partially evacuate its embassy in Iraq and will allow military personnel to leave locations around the Middle East amid heightened security risks in the region.
"The State Department regularly reviews US personnel overseas and this decision was made following a recent review," White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told Reuters when asked about the report of the partial evacuation, without providing further details.
ABC News on June 12 quoted President Trump confirming that US troops are being "moved out" of some areas in the Middle East amid escalating tensions with Israel and Iran. "Yes, they are being moved out because it can be a dangerous place, and we'll see what happens. We've announced the move. We'll see what happens," Trump said.
According to the plan, the US military will not be involved in transporting these personnel out of Iraq, but this may change depending on the actual situation.
In addition, an official said the US State Department had allowed these people to voluntarily leave Bahrain and Kuwait. The US Embassy in Kuwait said in a statement on June 11 that it "has not changed its personnel and remains fully operational."
The US has a military presence across the Middle East with bases in Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has given the go-ahead for troops to leave bases across the Middle East, a US official said.
"The State Department is preparing to issue a departure order to the US (embassy) in Baghdad. The intention is to do it through commercial means, but the US military is always ready to assist if requested," a US official revealed.
Iraq's state news agency quoted a government source as saying Baghdad had not recorded any personnel requiring evacuation.
Another US official said there had been no change in operations at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest US military base in the Middle East. No evacuation orders have been issued for US embassy staff or families in Qatar.
The news comes at a time of heightened tensions in the Gaza Strip, raising fears of a wider US-Israeli conflict with Iran. President Trump has repeatedly threatened to attack Iran if stalled talks over its nuclear program fail.
In an interview published on June 11, Mr. Trump said he was less confident that Iran would agree to stop enriching uranium, one of the key demands of the United States. In recent months, the United States has deployed more military assets to the Middle East - including B-2 bombers.
Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said on June 11 that if Iran is attacked, the country will retaliate by attacking US bases in the region.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
