US authorizes some diplomatic staff to leave Israel as tension with Iran continues despite talks

The US State Department on Friday authorized non-emergency personnel and their families to leave Israel, citing unspecified “security risks.”

The State Department’s change of direction comes as the United States continues negotiations with Iran on a possible nuclear deal, which Tehran hopes will prevent a possible US military attack that President Trump has prepared for with a massive deployment in the Middle East.

After the latest round of indirect talks mediated by Oman, held in Geneva on Thursday, Iran’s top diplomat said there was some progress toward a new deal on his country’s nuclear enrichment program, calling it “one of the most serious and longest rounds of talks” to date.

President Trump has threatened to attack Iran if a deal to curb its nuclear program is not reached, and several outside experts told News themezone on Thursday that the negotiations appear unlikely to produce a deal that both sides can live with. making a US attack likelypossibly soon.

The State Department did not mention Iran in its latest travel guidance on Friday, but said it was authorizing the departure of non-emergency U.S. government personnel and family members from Israel due to security risks, noting that, “in response to security incidents and without prior notice, the U.S. Embassy may further restrict or prohibit U.S. government employees and their family members from traveling to certain areas of Israel, the Old City of Jerusalem, and the West Bank.”

“Individuals may wish to consider leaving Israel while commercial flights are available,” the State Department said. Flights to and from Israeli airports and other regional airports are often suspended when the risk of military action increases.

U.S. special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, led negotiations with Iran on behalf of the Trump administration, and neither they nor the White House provided information about Thursday’s discussions in Geneva.

While few outside analysts see much reason for optimism, Iran — and the Omanis, who are mediating talks aimed at preventing U.S. attacks that many believe could escalate into a broader regional conflict — sought to portray Thursday’s meetings as productive.

“On some issues, there is now an understanding, and on others, it is natural that we have differences,” said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who led his country’s delegation in Geneva. “However, perhaps there was more seriousness on the part of both parties than before, with the aim of reaching a negotiated solution.”

“It was agreed that the technical teams will begin their work in Vienna on Monday to carry out technical reviews at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) with the help of its experts, in order to develop a framework to address some technical issues,” Araghchi said, adding that after consultations by both negotiating teams in their respective capitals, “we will have the fourth round of negotiations next week.”

Trump has said, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio has reiterated, that the president would prefer a negotiated solution to the standoff over Iran’s crippled nuclear program, which Rubio has accused Tehran of trying to rebuild after the U.S. attacks in June last year that severely damaged the country’s three main enrichment facilities.

President Trump has not made clear whether he would accept a new deal that curbs Iran’s nuclear program without addressing other U.S. grievances, particularly Iran’s conventional ballistic missile arsenal and its support for armed “proxy groups” in the region.

Vice President JD Vance told the Washington Post on Thursday that Trump was still considering military strikes “to ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon,” but that he also remained open to resolving “the issue diplomatically.”

Vance downplayed warnings from many nations in the region, including some of the United States’ close partners in the Middle East, that any American attack could lead to a war that draws in other nations and cannot end quickly.

“The idea that we’re going to be in a war in the Middle East for years with no end in sight, there’s no chance of that happening,” Vance said, quoted by The Post.

When Trump ordered attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June, joining Israel in attacking the country, Tehran responded Missile launch against the largest military base in the United States. in the Middle East. Trump indicated that the retaliation had been telegraphed to the United States in advance and that the missiles were intercepted.

Ten days earlier, Iran had fired a barrage of missiles at Israel in response to its attacks, including one that pierced Israel’s sophisticated air defenses and He landed in the heart of his capital.Tel-Aviv.

While Israel inflicted severe damage on Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities during the 12 day war in JuneAccording to some outside observers, Iran has replenished its arsenal and has hundreds of rockets capable of targeting Israel and US military assets in the region.

On Thursday, retired US Army Lt. Gen. HR McMaster, a News themezone contributor who served as national security adviser in the first Trump administration, predicted that the Trump administration would not find enough common ground with Iran’s hardline Islamic rulers to avoid a new military confrontation.

“The ideology of the theocratic dictatorship and its permanent hostility towards the United States and Israel will result in intransigence and an inability to make concessions on enrichment, the missile program and support for terrorist organizations,” he said.

McMaster, who commanded U.S. forces in the Middle East during his Army career, said that rather than another limited strike like June’s “Operation Midnight Hammer,” which just struck Iranian nuclear facilities, “I believe the opening campaign will be extensive, not a ‘signalling’ exercise. Iran will have very limited options to retaliate and expand the conflict due to the United States’ extensive air defense, counterair offensive and long-range strike capabilities.”

Friday’s update to the US travel advisory on Israel came as a long list of other countries issued similar warnings for their citizens to leave the country and Iran.

Australia told dependents of its diplomats in Israel and neighboring Lebanon to leave those countries on Wednesday, and also offered voluntary departures to dependents in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Jordan, citing the “deteriorating security situation in the region.”

India, Brazil, Singapore and at least six European nations have, since mid-January, warned their citizens not to travel to Iran and urged those in the country to leave, and China’s state media said on Friday that Chinese citizens in Iran should also evacuate.