US embassies in Mideast to continue operating with reduced staff: Report

The US is asking its embassies in the Middle East to prepare plans to continue operating with a small number of staff amid the continuing war with Iran, CNN reported Wednesday.

The US State Department said that the plans were not ready yet, noting that it is not yet known if they will be implemented at all of the embassies that are currently on reduced staffing.

The report suggested that the developments emphasize that the department does not expect to return to normal staffing in the region soon amid the looming threat of a full-scale return to war.

A department spokesperson reportedly said that they “do not discuss internal deliberations or post-specific contingency planning,” but added that the department “continually reviews the security and staffing posture at every diplomatic mission based on conditions on the ground and adjusts personnel levels as appropriate.”

“The safety and security of our personnel and their families remains the Department’s top priority as we continue to assess conditions across the region,” the spokesperson said. “Decisions regarding the status of any post are made based on a range of security and operational factors, in close coordination between posts and Washington.”

The department ordered nonemergency personnel and family members to leave almost every diplomatic post in the region shortly after the war began in late February.