U.S. Moves to Withdraw Some Middle East Personnel as Iran Tensions Rise
Oil prices rise while prospects for a nuclear deal with Tehran fade
Key Points
- U.S. reducing Middle East presence to essential personnel amid rising tensions.
- Nonessential staff will depart Baghdad embassy; Bahrain, Kuwait departures authorized.
- Oil prices rise 4.9% due to conflict worries and lower crude inventories.
The U.S. is moving to draw down its presence in parts of the Middle East to essential personnel, the State Department and Pentagon said Wednesday, as tensions in the region rise, sending oil prices higher.
The State Department said that it ordered the departure of all nonessential personnel from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and authorized the departure of nonessential personnel and family members from Bahrain and Kuwait.
At the same time, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authorized the voluntary departure of military dependents from across the Middle East, a defense official said. U.S. troops based in the region aren’t affected, officials said.
The heightened tensions come ahead of the latest round of nuclear talks between Iran and the U.S. President Trump told the “Pod Force One” podcast on Monday that he is “less confident” of reaching a deal and shutting down Iran’s nuclear program, raising concerns that diplomatic efforts could fail.
“I don’t know. I did think so, and I’m getting more and more—less confident about it,” Trump said Monday.
The sixth round of talks is scheduled to take place this weekend in Oman. A U.S. official said Wednesday that Special Envoy Steve Witkoff was still planning to travel there to meet with his Iranian counterpart on Sunday.
Army Gen. Erik Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command, which is responsible for U.S. military operations in the Middle East, was supposed to testify on Capitol Hill Thursday but canceled his appearance to return to Centcom headquarters in Tampa, Fla., a U.S. official said.
Iranian Defense Minister Amir Aziz Nasirzadeh said earlier on Wednesday that “some say that if negotiations fail, the situation may escalate into conflict.”
“If a conflict is imposed on us…all U.S. bases are within our reach and we will boldly target them in host countries,” Nasirzadeh warned.
Late Wednesday, Trump was asked about the personnel moves. “Well, they are being moved out because it could be a dangerous place, and we’ll see what happens,” he told reporters. Asked what could reduce tensions in the region, he replied, “They can’t have a nuclear weapon,” in an apparent reference to Iran.
The area of Baghdad where the U.S. Embassy is located has been targeted by rockets and mortars in past confrontations between Washington and Tehran. One of the largest State Department facilities in the world, the embassy has operated at less than full staffing levels for years, partly because of security concerns.
Experts and former officials say that Israel could try to defuse what it sees as the threat to its security of a nuclear-armed Iran if the deal talks are stymied. Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has in particular expressed concerns about the talks, warning that a bad nuclear deal is worse than no deal at all.
Trump said recently that he warned Netanyahu against taking action—such as a military strike—that could threaten the talks with Iran.
Benchmark U.S. oil prices rose 4.9% Wednesday, fueled in part by rising worries of conflict in the region, as well as a government report that showed domestic crude inventories were lower than expected.
Oil prices have risen six of the past eight trading sessions and are now up 19% from the low in May. Prices tumbled following Trump’s tariff barrage in April, which fed expectations of slower economic growth and lower fuel demand.
The prospect of lighter sanctions on Iran, which would allow the country to sell more of its oil abroad, had also weighed on oil prices. Now, with talks sputtering, traders are reworking their estimates for global supply and betting on rising oil prices.