{"id":442259,"date":"2026-02-24T02:53:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T02:53:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/442259\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T02:53:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T02:53:12","slug":"us-evacuates-staff-from-lebanon-embassy-amid-tensions-with-iran-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/442259\/","title":{"rendered":"US evacuates staff from Lebanon embassy amid tensions with Iran | Iran"},"content":{"rendered":"

Washington has evacuated dozens of non-essential personnel from its embassy in Lebanon<\/a> as US ships and warplanes have been positioned in the region for a potential strike against Iran in the coming days.<\/p>\n

The diplomatic drawdown followed reports that dozens of US personnel had been evacuated through Lebanon\u2019s Beirut-Rafic Hariri international airport to protect them from a possible Iranian counterattack if tensions between the US and Iran<\/a> escalate into war. Roughly 30-50 US embassy personnel have left the country, estimates suggest.<\/p>\n

The US and Iran are scheduled to hold a third round of indirect talks in Geneva on Thursday on limiting Iran\u2019s nuclear programme. Donald Trump<\/a> has said that he wants a \u201cmeaningful deal\u201d that will prevent Iran from seeking to build a nuclear weapon and warned that \u201cbad things\u201d would happen if no deal was made.<\/p>\n

The US has evacuated personnel from its embassies and military bases as part of its preparations for armed conflict with Iran in the past. In 2025, the US temporarily evacuated non-essential personnel from embassies in Iraq, Bahrain and Kuwait before launching strikes on Iranian uranium enrichment and other facilities linked to its nuclear programme.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Department of State has ordered the departure of non-emergency US government personnel and eligible family members from US embassy Beirut,\u201d a senior state department official said on Monday. \u201cWe continuously assess the security environment, and based on our latest review, we determined it prudent to reduce our footprint to essential personnel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe embassy remains operational with core staff in place,\u201d the statement continued. \u201cThis is a temporary measure intended to ensure the safety of our personnel while maintaining our ability to operate and assist US citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n

US officials have warned that Iran could react by launching missiles at US embassies and military bases, or by greenlighting asymmetrical attacks through its proxy forces in the region. US diplomatic facilities are seen as a likely target for Iranian-backed militias such as Hezbollah<\/a> in Lebanon.<\/p>\n

Iran held joint military drills with Russia last week during which it tested new anti-ship missiles that it could use to shut down the strait of Hormuz, one of the world\u2019s most important trade arteries.<\/p>\n

Steve Witkoff, the Trump envoy who has led negotiations with Iran, said on Saturday that the president was confused why Iran had not yet \u201ccapitulated\u201d in talks over its nuclear programme.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to use the word \u2018frustrated\u2019, because he understands he has plenty of alternatives, but he\u2019s curious as to \u2026 why they haven\u2019t capitulated,\u201d Witkoff said during an interview with Lara Trump, the president\u2019s daughter-in-law, aired on Fox News on Saturday.<\/p>\n

He continued: \u201cWhy, under this pressure \u2013 with the amount of sea power and naval power over there \u2013 why haven\u2019t they come to us and said: \u2018We profess we don\u2019t want a weapon, so here\u2019s what we\u2019re prepared to do\u2019? And yet, it\u2019s sort of hard to get them to that place.\u201d<\/p>\n

The US has also begun withdrawing its military from bases in Syria<\/a>, Reuters reported, citing local sources, in a personnel drawdown from another potential target for an Iranian counterattack. The Trump administration has denied that the evacuation there is related to a potential strike on Iran.<\/p>\n

The US has sent two aircraft carriers, as well as dozens of warplanes, combat ships, and advanced aircraft including Awacs jets to the region in the largest buildup of US military firepower since before the Iraq war. The USS Gerald Ford, the second aircraft carrier deployed to the region, will be in position in several days and arrived in Souda Bay off of Crete, where the US has a major naval base.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Washington has evacuated dozens of non-essential personnel from its embassy in Lebanon as US ships and warplanes have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":442260,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[49,50,51,47,52,48],"class_list":["post-442259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=442259"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442259\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/442260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=442259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=442259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=442259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}