US to return diplomats to Middle East embassies as Iran war tensions ease

The redeployment could begin this week and will affect U.S. missions in Israel, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Oman, Iraq and Kuwait.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

The State Department is preparing to return U.S. diplomats to several Middle East embassies that were evacuated during the war with Iran, while maintaining some staffing and family restrictions because of continuing security concerns, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

The redeployment could begin this week and will affect U.S. missions in Israel, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Oman, Iraq and Kuwait, according to an internal State Department document obtained by the Times and three U.S. officials.

The move comes despite stalled U.S.-Iran negotiations over extending a 60-day ceasefire that expired last week and threats from the Trump administration to impose new economic sanctions on Tehran.

The U.S. Embassy in Lebanon is expected to receive returning diplomats first, although it will remain below full staffing. Embassies in Israel, Jordan and Oman are eventually expected to return to full staffing.

U.S. missions in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Lebanon will initially operate at no more than 85% staffing, while those in Iraq, Kuwait and Bahrain will be limited to 75%. Restrictions on family members will remain in effect in the six Gulf countries and Lebanon.

The State Department said it regularly evaluates security conditions at diplomatic missions and was adjusting staffing at some Middle East posts based on its latest assessment.

A day before the United States and Israel struck Iran in late February, nonessential U.S. Embassy personnel in Jerusalem and their families were given the option of leaving Israel at government expense.

Additional evacuations followed as Iran and its regional allies launched explosive drones and rockets at U.S. diplomatic facilities in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and elsewhere. Some diplomats assigned to affected countries subsequently worked from home.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro said the redeployment indicated the administration believes the conflict is subsiding.

“Returning personnel to missions that were partly evacuated suggests the administration believes the war is winding down,” Shapiro said.

Former State Department official Robert Danin cautioned that restoring embassy staffing would not prevent Washington from taking military action against Iran later.

“They did it once,” Danin said of the earlier evacuations. “They can do it again.”