The U.S. is pulling nonessential military and diplomatic personnel from across the Middle East and evacuating families of American service members from bases throughout the region as tension mounts over Iran’s nuclear program, the Pentagon and the State Department said Wednesday.
Brig. Gen. Aziz Nasirzadeh, the Iranian defense minister, said Tehran will strike U.S. military bases in the Middle East if nuclear talks fail and Washington launches an attack on the Islamic republic.
“In that case, the U.S. will have no choice but to leave the region, as all of its bases are within the reach of the Iranian military and they will not hesitate to target all of them in their host countries,” Gen. Nasirzadeh said.
Gen. Nasirzadeh hailed what he called Iran’s “significant achievements in defense” and confirmed the launch last week of a missile with a 2-ton warhead.
“Iran will never accept military limitations and negotiations on this subject are strictly prohibited,” he said, according to the state-owned Islamic Republic News Agency.
A Defense Department official told The Washington Times that the highest priority was the safety and security of military personnel and their families.
“U.S. Central Command is monitoring the developing tension in the Middle East,” the Pentagon official said. “Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has authorized the voluntary departure of military dependents from locations across the CENTCOM [area of responsibility].”
The Associated Press reported that the State Department ordered the departure of all nonessential personnel from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad based on its latest review and a commitment “to keeping Americans safe, both at home and abroad.” The embassy had already been on limited staffing, and the order will not affect a large number of personnel.
The department, however, is authorizing the departure of nonessential personnel and family members from Bahrain and Kuwait, giving them the option of leaving.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly confirmed the moves.
“The State Department regularly reviews American personnel abroad, and this decision was made as a result of a recent review,” Ms. Kelly said.
Tensions in the region have been rising in recent days as talks between the U.S. and Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program appear to have hit an impasse. The talks seek to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing U.S. economic sanctions imposed on the Islamic republic.
President Trump said the U.S. will not allow Tehran to continue its nuclear enrichment, which could lead to nuclear weapons. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has rejected that position. Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful.
Mr. Trump has repeatedly threatened to strike Iran if the negotiations fail.
The president said in an interview released Wednesday that he was losing confidence that Iran would agree to stop enriching uranium.
“I don’t know,” Mr. Trump told the “Pod Force One” podcast Monday when asked whether he thought he could get Iran to agree to shut down its nuclear program. “I don’t know. I did think so, and I’m getting more and more — less confident about it.”
The U.S. maintains a significant military presence in the Middle East to support regional operations.
The largest base is Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which hosts the forward headquarters for Central Command. Other key locations include Bahrain, where the Navy’s 5th Fleet is based, and Djibouti, home of Camp Lemonnier, the only permanent U.S. military base in Africa.
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.