US embassies across the Middle East are preparing to send home non-essential staff and families amid rising tension in the region.

President Donald Trump said US personnel were being moved out of the Middle East because "it could be a dangerous place."

The US is reportedly preparing a partial evacuation of its embassy in Baghdad and will allow military dependents to leave locations around the Middle East.

Meanwhile, a US embassy official said the State Department had authorised voluntary departures from Bahrain and Kuwait.

Donald Trump has issued a warning to Iran

The US Embassy as seen from across the Tigris River in Baghdad

It comes at a tense time in the region as President Trump's efforts to reach a nuclear deal with Iran appear to be deadlocked

Meanwhile, US intelligence suggests that Israel has been preparing for a strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.

Asked whether anything can be done to lower the tension in the region, Trump said: "[Iran] can't have a nuclear weapon. Very simple, they can't have a nuclear weapon."

Iranian Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said that if Iran was subjected to strikes it would retaliate by hitting US bases in the region.

Iranian Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh

Baghdad in Iraq

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has authorised the voluntary departure of military dependents from locations across the Middle East, a US official said.

Another US official said that was mostly relevant to family members located in Bahrain, where the bulk of them are based.

The British Foreign Office said it was monitoring the situation and would keep its embassy in Iraq under constant review following the US moves.

Tensions inside Iraq have risen since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023, with Iran-aligned armed groups in the country repeatedly attacking US troops, though attacks have subsided since last year.

Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth

Donald Trump talks to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Israel and Iran also twice exchanged fire last year, the first ever such direct attacks between the two countries, with missiles and war drones hurtling across Iraqi airspace.

In recent months the United States has deployed more military assets in the Middle East, including B-2 bombers, which have since been replaced, and extending the deployment of a second aircraft carrier, which has since departed.

The next round of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States is due in the coming days with Iran expected to hand over a counter proposal after rejecting an offer by Washington.