US authorises voluntary departure of military dependents across Middle East amid rising Iran tensions

Concurrently, US State Department preparing to order departure of all nonessential personnel from US Embassy in Baghdad due to potential for regional unrest, say officials

Washington: The American military has authorised “the voluntary departure” of troops’ dependents from locations across the Middle East as tensions with Iran have risen, two US officials said on Wednesday.

One US defence official said the order came from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. That official said the US military was working with the State Department and its allies in the region “to maintain a constant state of readiness.” The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a decision that had yet to be made public.

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Meanwhile, the State Department is preparing to order the departure of all nonessential personnel from the US Embassy in Baghdad due to the potential for regional unrest, two US officials said on Wednesday.

The Baghdad embassy has already been on limited staffing, and the order will not affect a large number of personnel. The department, however, also is authorising the departure of nonessential personnel and family members from Bahrain and Kuwait. That gives them an option on whether to leave the country.

The Pentagon is standing by to support a potential evacuation of US personnel from the US Embassy Baghdad, another US official said. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to detail plans that had not been made public.

Tensions in the region have been rising in recent days as talks between the US and Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program appear to have hit an impasse.

Meanwhile, the Board of Governors at the International Atomic Energy Agency was set to potentially vote on a measure to censure Iran. That could set in motion an effort to snap back United Nations sanctions on Iran via a measure in Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers that’s still active until October.

Amid the reports of preparations for embassy departures, Iran’s mission to the UN posted on social media that “threats of overwhelming force won’t change the facts.” “Iran is not seeking a nuclear weapon, and US militarism only fuels instability,” the Iranian mission wrote.

Iranian Defence Minister Gen Aziz Nasirzadeh separately told journalists that he hoped talks with the US would yield results, though Tehran stood ready to respond. “If conflict is imposed on us, the opponent’s casualties will certainly be more than ours, and in that case, America must leave the region, because all its bases are within our reach,” he said. “We have access to them, and we will target all of them in the host countries without hesitation.”

Earlier on Wednesday, a statement from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre, a Mideast-based effort overseen by the British navy, issued a warning to ships in the region that it “has been made aware of increased tensions within the region which could lead to an escalation of military activity having a direct impact on mariners.”

It urged caution in the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz. It did not name Iran, though those waterways have seen Iranian ship seizures and attacks in the past.