The US State Department is requesting that US embassies in the Middle East develop “reduced operations” plans, as the conflict with Iran shows no immediate signs of resolution, according to a CNN report published on Wednesday.
Sources have informed CNN that, although plans have not been finalized, the State Department has encouraged US embassy staff to reduce both their assignments and staff numbers. There is a general expectation that officials do not anticipate returning to normal staffing levels in the region anytime soon.
However, reports indicate that the State Department has yet to determine whether all affected posts will implement these changes.
Any plans for “reduced operations,” once finalized, could provide some clarity to US diplomats and their families who have been displaced, CNN reported.
A spokesperson from the State Department spoke with CNN regarding the reported changes at the embassy. They stated, “do not discuss internal deliberations or post-specific contingency planning,” but noted that the department “continually reviews the security and staffing posture at every diplomatic mission based on conditions on the ground and adjusts personnel levels as appropriate.”
“Decisions regarding the status of any post are made based on a range of security and operational factors, in close coordination between posts and Washington,” they added.
Fewer diplomats on the ground may affect the State Department's ability to provide timely consular assistance to Americans abroad and to support the administration's priorities, former diplomats told CNN.
However, a State Department spokesperson refuted the notion that US diplomatic efforts are “limited” due to a reduced number of personnel on the ground.
“We have seen sustained engagement from the highest levels of the Trump Administration with our partners in the Middle East, and our relationship with our allies in the region continues to get stronger,” they said.
Embassy evacuations begin with the US-Israel war against Iran
The State Department ordered nonemergency personnel and family members to leave almost every diplomatic post in the region shortly after the US-Israel war with Iran began in late February.
A decision that was followed by nearly six months of uncertainty about whether the posts could return to normal and whether all diplomats could return to their assignments.
The State Department did not reduce staffing at most embassies in the region prior to the start of the US-Israeli military campaign. Before the war, only Lebanon and Israel were designated under "ordered and authorized departure status," meaning non-emergency personnel and their family members had the option to leave but were not required to do so.
As the conflict intensified and US diplomatic facilities in the region became targets for Iran and its proxies, facing drone and missile attacks, the State Department ordered the departure of non-emergency personnel and their families from Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
The abrupt reduction in staff left many diplomats and their families, who had several years left on their assignments, struggling to create temporary situations for themselves back on American soil. They found themselves unable to make long-term commitments upon returning home and had to plan around the expectation that they would need to quickly return to the Middle East if the political climate shifted.
In response to growing concern among embassy staff, the State Department spokesperson told CNN the department remains “committed to supporting our workforce and their families throughout this process and will provide updates through appropriate channels as decisions are made.”