Chicago – June 12, 2025
The US State and Defense departments on Wednesday made efforts to arrange the departure of non-essential personnel from locations around the Middle East, according to US officials and sources familiar with the efforts.
It’s not clear what is causing the sudden change in posture, but a defense official said US Central Command is monitoring “developing tension in the Middle East.”
“They are being moved out because it could be a dangerous place, and we’ll see what happens. But they have been or we’ve given notice to move out, and we’ll see what happens,” President Donald Trump told reporters Wednesday upon arriving at a Kennedy Center event.
While the reasons for the heightened security concerns in the region are not clear, the planned departures come as tensions involving Iran and Israel have recently escalated as the Trump administration continues to pursue a new nuclear deal with Iran.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has authorized the voluntary departure of military dependents from locations across the Middle East, according to the official.
“The safety and security of our service members and their families remains our highest priority and U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) is monitoring the developing tension in the Middle East,” the official said. Gen. Michael Kurilla, the CENTCOM commander, postponed testimony he was due to give in front of a Senate committee on Thursday due to the tensions, a defense official said.
The State Department is also preparing to order the departure of non-essential personnel from the US embassies in Iraq, Bahrain and Kuwait due to increased security risks in the region, according to a separate US official and another source familiar with the matter.
