The State Department on Monday ordered non-emergency U.S. government personnel and eligible family members to depart the U.S. Embassy in Beirut.
The move coincides with President Donald Trump increasing U.S. military posture in the Middle East and issuing warnings to the Iranian regime.
“The Department of State has ordered the departure of non-emergency U.S. government personnel and eligible family members from U.S. Embassy Beirut,” the department said.
The State Department gave no specific incident as the reason and said it was responding to security conditions on the ground.
“We continuously assess the security environment, and based on our latest review, we determined it prudent to reduce our footprint to essential personnel.
The Embassy remains operational with core staff in place.
This is a temporary measure intended to ensure the safety of our personnel while maintaining our ability to operate and assist U.S. citizens,” the statement said.
The drawdown follows heightened regional jitters tied to Iran and its network of proxies, including Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Reports say Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has tightened its grip over Hezbollah as the prospect of U.S. action against Tehran looms.
The Jerusalem Post reported the shift reflects preparation for a potential regional confrontation, with analysts warning Hezbollah could be “activated” if Washington directly targets the regime.
“If the regime in Tehran feels threatened, the likelihood of unleashing Hezbollah against Israel and U.S. regional assets increases substantially,” Ross Harrison, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, told Fox News Digital.
“Hezbollah would not be activated right away, unless the attack immediately targets the leadership of the Islamic Republic.
But as part of a graduated response, Hezbollah will likely be seen as an asset,” he said.
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Harrison said Iran’s response could change fast if its leaders believe they are fighting for survival.
“If it faces an existential risk, then Iran may throw caution to the wind and try to deploy Hezbollah to the maximum,” Harrison, author of “Decoding Iran’s Foreign Policy” explained.
Trump has also tightened the timeline publicly, previously giving Iran 10 to 15 days to respond to a deal, fueling questions about what Washington will do if Tehran stalls or refuses.
Diplomacy is still moving with a new round of talks scheduled for Thursday in Geneva expected to focus on Iran’s nuclear program, including uranium enrichment levels and sanctions relief.
Harrison said any major decision would likely be tightly controlled at the top.
“The decision-making circle in the White House is very small regarding Iran, with the president keeping a close hand on it all,” Harrison said.
He added that any decision to directly target the Iranian regime would likely be made inside Trump’s inner circle.
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