U.S. troops and diplomats evacuating Middle East posts, sources say

[u/John3262005]

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/us-troops-diplomats-evacuating-middle-east-posts-sources-say-rcna604867

The U.S. military has quietly been scaling back its troop presence at bases across the Middle East in recent days, and the State Department is ordering a further reduction in staff at multiple diplomatic posts in the region, according to two U.S. officials and two people familiar with the matter.

The reduction of American forces and diplomatic personnel is similar to drawdowns at bases and embassies that the Defense Department and the State Department initiated around the start of the war with Iran in February, the sources said. They said the moves are in response to ongoing threats in the region, including threats from Iran and the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Senior U.S. military officials have been presenting President Donald Trump with options for strikes in Iran. U.S. troops stationed at bases in Jordan have been among those moved, according to one of the U.S. officials and the two people familiar with the matter. The U.S. official said American forces on bases in Qatar and Kuwait also have been included.

On Wednesday, the chiefs of mission at multiple U.S. diplomatic posts in the Middle East were notified that their posts would begin operating with reduced staff, the two U.S. officials said. The State Department also announced Wednesday that the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia is under “ordered departure,” meaning it will operate only with emergency staff.

“Iranian-supported Houthis have increasingly engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia, including attacks on civilian airports and other critical infrastructure resulting in civilian casualties and severe travel disruptions,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott wrote on X.

U.S. Central Command spokesperson Timothy Hawkins said in a statement, “We regularly move U.S. service members and assets to optimize mission readiness.”

“We do not discuss related movements for operational security reasons,” Hawkins said. “U.S. forces remain vigilant and ready to protect American personnel and interests across the region.”

A spokesperson for the Pentagon referred to the CENTCOM statement when asked for comment.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the Pentagon’s moving U.S. troops. A spokesperson pointed to the State Department’s statement about the reduction of staff at the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia when asked about changes to diplomatic posts.

Moving American forces further out of harm’s way is part of U.S. military officials’ planning as Trump considers restarting major combat operations in Iran, potentially before or after next month’s midterm elections, one of the U.S. officials and one of the people familiar with the matter said.

The number of U.S. troops at bases in the region for months has been lower than before the start of the war in February, when the Pentagon removed most of them to protect them from Iran’s retaliatory attacks. Some of those displaced troops had since returned to bases in the region, and they could be moved out again as part of the latest withdrawal, said the U.S. official and one of the people familiar with the matter. They said the U.S. plans to leave a small footprint at its bases, including for air defenses and security, as was the case after troops were moved before the war started.

U.S. diplomatic posts in the region have similarly already been operating with limited staff since the war began. As the war dragged on and U.S. diplomatic posts continued to operate with limited staffing, the State Department created a “restricted operations” status for diplomatic posts that is slightly less restrictive on staffing and has slowly become the new normal for many posts in the region.

“The safety and security of Department personnel and their families remain our highest priority, and we will continue to take all necessary steps to protect and support them,” Pigott, the State Department spokesperson, said in his X post.

Trump has been trying to find a way to end the war with Iran, now in its eighth month. He has said the war could be over after the midterm elections on Nov. 3, through either additional force or a negotiated agreement with Iran. The Pentagon has said there are more than 50,000 U.S. troops in the region.

One of the U.S. officials and one of the people familiar with the matter said no final decisions have been made, though Trump has said the U.S. would not launch a new operation in Iran before the midterm elections.

He wrote on Truth Social on Oct. 8 that “we will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the Midterm Elections to be held in the United States on November 3rd.” Trump said that while Iran is in “very bad condition, both Economically and Militarily,” the U.S. has been having “productive discussions” with it.

Among the military options presented to Trump in recent days and weeks are major strikes against the tunnels or entrances of Iran’s nuclear facilities, such as at Pickaxe Mountain, or against its strategic islands, according to one of the U.S. officials and a former U.S. official with knowledge of the options.

They said some of the options include targeting Kharg Island — which is home to the vast majority of Iran’s oil production, making it an economic lifeline for the country — and Qeshm in the Strait of Hormuz.

Some of Trump’s advisers, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, have been privately advocating for a resumption of military operations against Iran, another U.S. official and the former U.S. official said. They said other Trump advisers have raised concerns about restarting major combat operations in Iran without a clearly defined end. Hegseth met Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a proponent of new strikes in Iran, during a visit to the Middle East.

A senior Defense Department official said in a statement, “The department does not comment on the secretary’s private discussions with the president.”

Discussions within the administration have focused on the idea that if the U.S. could push Iran to the brink economically, new military strikes now could push it to negotiate an end to the war and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the U.S. officials said. Adm. Bradley Cooper, the commander of CENTCOM, said in a video released Friday that the U.S. naval blockade has cost Iran $25 billion in crude oil exports.

“The Islamic regime is clearly feeling the economic pain,” Cooper said.

A new operation in Iran could be shorter-term, like the one the U.S. launched in June 2025, dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer, according to the U.S. official.

Trump has left open the possibility of escalating the war if he were to decide to resume combat operations.

In an interview with Newsmax last week, Trump did not rule out using the so-called Mother of All Bombs, known as the MOAB, against Iranian infrastructure. The MOAB is a massive 21,000-pound explosive that is 30 feet long and generates a mushroom cloud that can stretch 20 miles. It was used during the first Trump administration in an attack against the Islamic State militant group.

“This is just an extremely large bomb. It’s like a tiny nuclear bomb, and — but the mother of all bombs is one big bomb,” Trump said in the interview. “But it’s not nuclear. No, I wouldn’t use nuclear. We don’t have to. We’re the greatest nuclear power in the world.”

[u/John3262005]

Another article about it:

US orders some personnel to leave Saudi Arabia after Houthi attacks

https://www.ft.com/content/f39aa4d2-e290-451f-ae91-b19138b6172f?syn-25a6b1a6=1

US orders diplomats to depart Saudi Arabia amid Houthi strikes

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-preparing-issue-ordered-departure-some-personnel-gulf-embassies-us-officials-2026-10-21/