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US orders evacuations for personnel across the Middle East

Updated Jun 12, 2025, 6:50am EDT
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The US embassy in Baghdad.
The US embassy in Baghdad. Ahmed Saad/Reuters

The US began evacuating non-essential personnel from diplomatic and military installations across the Middle East after Israel was reported to be readying an operation in Iran.

The partial evacuation of the Iraq embassy, among other staff withdrawals, came as talks between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s nuclear program appear to have stalled, with American officials fearing reprisals if Israel follows through on its plans, CBS said.

US President Donald Trump held a “tense” call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which Trump reportedly told him that strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities were “off the table for now” despite the Israeli leader’s demand that a “credible military threat” be maintained.

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