The president of the United States, Donald Trump, said on Wednesday that American staff were being transferred out of the Middle East because “it could be a dangerous place,” and added that the United States would not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.
Reuters He reported on Wednesday that the United States is preparing a partial evacuation of its Iraqi embassy and will allow military dependents to leave places throughout the Middle East due to the greatest safety risks in the region, according to US sources. UU. And Iraqi.
The four Iraqi and two sources did not say what security risks the decision had caused, and the reports of the possible evacuation increased oil prices by more than four percent.
An American official said the State Department had authorized voluntary departures from Bahrein and Kuwait.
The State Department updated its travel notice worldwide on Wednesday night to reflect the last position of the United States. “On June 11, the State Department ordered the departure of the United States government personnel that is not emergency due to high regional tensions,” said advice.
The decision of the United States to evacuate some personnel arrives at a volatile moment in the region. Trump’s efforts to reach a nuclear agreement with Iran seem to be stagnant, and American intelligence indicates that Israel has been making preparations for a strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities.
“They are being transferred because it could be a dangerous place, and we will see what happens,” Trump told reporters. “We have given a warning to move.”
When asked if something can be done to reduce the temperature in the region, Trump said: “They cannot have a nuclear weapon. Very simple, they cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
Trump has repeatedly threatened to hit Iran if stutter conversations about his nuclear program fail. In an interview previously published on Wednesday, Trump said he was less and less safe that Tehran would agree to cease to enrich uranium, a key American demand.
Iranian defense minister Aziz Nasirzadeh also said yesterday that if they will be subjected to attacks, he would retaliate when reaching the US bases in the region.
The United States Embassy in Kuwait said in a statement that “he had not changed his personnel position and remains completely operational.”
Military presence
The United States has a military presence in the main oil -producing region, with bases in Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrein and the United Arab Emirates.
The United States Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, has authorized the voluntary departure of military dependents for places throughout the Middle East, said an American official. Another American official said he was mostly relevant to family members located in Bahrein, where most of them are based.
“The State Department has an orderly game to [the] United States Embassy in Baghdad. The intention is to do it through commercial means, but the US army is standing if help is requested, ”said a third American official.
The Iraq state agency cited a government source saying that Baghdad had not registered any security indication that requested an evacuation.
Another American official said that there were no changes in the operations in the air base to the Udeid in Qatar, the largest American military base in the Middle East and that no evacuation order for employees or families linked to the United States embassy in Qatar had been issued, which was operating as usual.
Tensions
Petroleum futures rose $ 3 in the reports of the Baghdad evacuation, with future raw Brent to $ 69.18 per barrel.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Maritime Agency of Great Britain warned that the increase in tensions in the Middle East can lead to an escalation in military activity that could affect the shipping in critical river roads. He advised ships to wear caution while traveling through the Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the hormuz strait, which everyone borders Iran.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Great Britain said it was monitoring the situation and that it would maintain its embassy in Iraq under a constant review after the movements of the United States.
Iraq, a rare regional partner of the United States and its arqu-regional enemy Iran, houses 2,500 US troops, although supposedly armed factions backed by Tehran are linked to their security forces.
Iraq tensions have increased since the beginning of the bombing of Gaza de Israel in October 2023, with armed groups in the country repeatedly attacking US troops, although the attacks have decreased since last year.
Israel and Iran also exchanged fire last year, the first direct attacks among the most entrenched enemies in the region, with missiles and war drones that rush into Iraqi airspace.
The main regional ally of the United States, Israel, has also achieved objectives throughout the region, including Iraqi armed groups that operate both within Iraq and neighboring Syria.
In recent months, the United States has deployed more military active in the Middle East, including B-2 bombers, which since then have been replaced and extended the deployment of a second aircraft carrier, which since then left.
The next round of nuclear conversations between Iran and the United States is due in the next few days, and Iran hopes to deliver a counterproposal after rejecting an offer from Washington.
A senior Iranian official told him Reuters that a military threat had always been part of the negotiation tactics of the United States with Iran.
“Any military action against Iran, either by the United States or Israel, will have serious consequences,” the official warned.
Iran’s UN mission published yesterday in X: “The threats of ‘overwhelming force’ will not change facts: Iran is not looking for a nuclear weapon and American militarism only feeds instability.”
The statement seemed to be an answer to a previous comment from the US Army General.
Kurilla postponed the testimony he had to deliver to the legislators of the United States today due to tensions in the Middle East, two other US officials said.
