US orders non-emergency personnel to leave Beirut embassy amid tensions | Politics News

US official says Washington determined it was ‘prudent to reduce our footprint to essential personnel’ in Lebanon.

The United States has ordered the departure of non-emergency personnel at its embassy in Beirut with their family members, a senior State Department official has confirmed, amid escalating tensions in the region.

The move on Monday comes as the US continues to amass military assets in the Middle East, with President Donald Trump threatening to attack Iran almost daily.

“We continuously assess the security environment, and based on our latest review, we determined it prudent to reduce our footprint to essential personnel,” the US official told Al Jazeera.

“The Embassy remains operational with core staff in place. This is a temporary measure intended to ensure the safety of our personnel while maintaining our ability to operate and assist US citizens.”

Hezbollah, which has been weakened by Israel’s 2024 assault on Lebanon, has not ruled out interfering militarily in support of Iran should a war break out.

During the Lebanese Civil War in 1983, a car bombing attack targeted the US embassy in Beirut, killing dozens of people, including 17 Americans.

Later the same year, an enormous suicide bombing killed 241 US service members at the Marine Corps barracks after US troops deployed to Beirut.

The US embassy in Lebanon – one of the largest diplomatic missions in the world – is now housed in a fortified campus on a hilltop in the northern Beirut suburb of Aaoukar.