State Department Pulling Non-Essential Staff From Embassy In Beirut Amid Iran Tensions | EUROtoday

WASHINGTON, Feb 23 (Reuters) – The State Department is pulling out non-essential authorities personnel and their eligible members of the family from the U.S. embassy in Beirut, a senior State Department official mentioned on Monday, amid rising considerations concerning the danger of a navy battle with Iran.

“We continuously assess the security environment, and based on our latest review, we determined it prudent to reduce our footprint to essential personnel,” mentioned a senior State Department official, talking on the situation of anonymity.

“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 official mentioned.

A supply on the U.S. embassy mentioned 50 individuals had been evacuated, whereas an official at Beirut airport mentioned 32 embassy workers, together with members of the family, had flown out of Beirut airport on Monday.

The U.S. has constructed up its navy presence within the Middle East, with President Donald Trump warning on Thursday that “really bad things will happen” if no deal is reached to unravel a longstanding dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program.

U.S. pursuits had been repeatedly focused in Lebanon within the Eighties in the course of the 1975-90 civil battle, throughout which the U.S. held the Iran-backed Hezbollah accountable for assaults together with the 1983 suicide bombing in opposition to the U.S. Marines headquarters in Beirut that killed 241 servicemen, and a 1983 suicide assault on the U.S. embassy in Beirut that killed 49 embassy workers.

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk in Washington and Laila Bassam in Beirut and Tom Perry; Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu Editing by Mark Porter)