U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has authorized the voluntary evacuation of military dependents from locations across the Middle East, a U.S. defense official said Wednesday.
He said that the safety and security of service members and their families remain the highest priority. Hegseth said the U.S. and Central Command (CENTCOM) are closely monitoring tensions in the region and are in close coordination with the State Department and regional allies.
The United States has a military presence across the major oil-producing region, with bases in Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
The U.S. State Department has confirmed the evacuation of diplomatic staff from its embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. However, Iraq's state news agency cited a government source as saying Baghdad had not recorded any security indication that called for an evacuation.
Meanwhile, a U.S. official said the State Department had authorized voluntary departures from Bahrain and Kuwait.
The U.S. embassy in Kuwait said in a statement on Wednesday that it had "not changed its staffing posture and remains fully operational."
The State Department updated its worldwide travel advisory on Wednesday evening to reflect the latest U.S. posture.
“On June 11, the Department of State ordered the departure of non-emergency U.S. government personnel due to heightened regional tensions,” the advisory said.
The decision by the U.S. to evacuate some personnel comes at a volatile moment in the region. Trump's efforts to reach a nuclear deal with Iran appear to be deadlocked and U.S. intelligence indicates that Israel has been making preparations for a strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the Middle East "could be a dangerous place," adding that the United States would not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.
The move follows the warning from Iran’s Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh who said that U.S. military bases in the region would be targeted if a conflict breaks out between Tehran and Washington over Iran’s nuclear program.
Although nuclear talks continue through Oman, disagreements over Iran’s uranium enrichment program persist.
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On Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova dismissed the allegations that Russia was responsible for jamming European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's aircraft, labelling them as fake and a product of paranoia.
A series of lightning-induced wildfires swept through parts of two Northern California counties on Wednesday, prompting widespread evacuations and engulfing sections of a historic Gold Rush mining town that once housed thousands of Chinese immigrants.
Egypt and Sudan on Wednesday described Ethiopia’s Nile River dam as a “threat” to their countries, citing serious consequences for water security and regional stability.
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has appointed seven new members to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) vaccine expert panel, according to an internal CDC document released on Wednesday.
AnewZ has learned that India has once again blocked Azerbaijan’s application for full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, while Pakistan’s recent decision to consider diplomatic relations with Armenia has been coordinated with Baku as part of Azerbaijan’s peace agenda.
A powerful eruption at Japan’s Shinmoedake volcano sent an ash plume more than 3,000 metres high on Sunday morning, prompting safety warnings from authorities.
A popular funicular railway car in Lisbon, the Gloria, derailed and crashed on Wednesday, killing at least 15 people and injuring 18 others.
The UK is gearing up for Exercise Pegasus 2025, its largest pandemic readiness test since COVID-19. Running from September to November, this full-scale simulation will challenge the country's response to a fast-moving respiratory outbreak.
A Polish Air Force pilot was killed on Thursday when an F-16 fighter jet crashed during a training flight ahead of the 2025 Radom International Air Show.
Iran’s top security chief Ali Larijani, said Tehran was open to nuclear talks with the United States but rejected Washington’s insistence on restrictions of Tehran’s ballistic missile program, which he termed “unrealizable”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan outlined Türkiye’s efforts to strengthen ties with Beijing while also pushing forward on global peace and regional stability.
President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva have arrived in Beijing to join the commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against the Japanese occupation and World War II.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani met in Baghdad on Tuesday with Admiral Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), to review security cooperation and future counterterrorism efforts.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has said that Tbilisi will implement all of the European Union’s requirements only if they are “justified and logical.”
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