President Donald Trump confirmed to reporters Wednesday night that the US is evacuating all military dependents and non-essential embassy and consulate staff from the Middle East as a war with Iran becomes more likely.
“They are being moved out because it could be a dangerous place,” Trump told reporters on his way to an evening event at The Kennedy Center in Washington DC. “We’ll see what happens. But … we’ve given notice to move out and we’ll see what happens.”
In response to a reporter’s question as to whether there is anything that could “dial the temperature down” in the region, Trump replied, “They can’t have a nuclear weapon. Very simple. They can’t have a nuclear weapon,” he repeated. “We’re not going to allow that.”
The president also posted a call-to-battle statement on his Truth Social platform, writing, “I am more confident than ever that in the days ahead and every generation to come, the US Army will heap glory upon glory. You will summon inexhaustible courage. You will protect every inch of US soil – and you will defend America to the ends of the earth!”
Nevertheless, backchannel talks between the White House and Jerusalem have taken a different tone.
Israel Ready, Trump Says ‘Wait’
This week, Israel allegedly notified the United States of its intentions to launch an independent attack on Iranian nuclear sites, according to CBS News.
Trump again urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call on Monday, however, to refrain from attacking Iran until the US has exhausted the possibility of reaching a “reasonable” nuclear deal with Tehran.
The president told the prime minister “the US conveyed a reasonable proposal to Iran and is due to receive an answer in the coming days,” Netanyahu’s office reported. Interestingly, the White House did not publish a readout of the call.
Israel has long prepared for a war with the Islamic Republic, but in recent days the IDF has doubled down on preparations for a strike on Iran’s nuclear sites and is now reportedly “ready” to attack.
Israeli military officials anticipate up to 10 days of Iranian retaliatory missile attacks against the Jewish State, according to a report by the New York Times.
US, Britain Prepare for Looming Conflict
US and British vessels passing through the Persian Gulf have raised their alert status. The British Merchant Navy issued a warning of “military escalation” in the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Associated Press.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has meanwhile ordered the withdrawal of US personnel from the embassies in Iraq, Bahrain, and Kuwait.
Rubio also ordered all embassies within Iran’s strike range – including several in Eastern Europe and North Africa – to organize emergency teams and report plans to mitigate risks and threats, according to multiple reports.
An equally ominous sign of impending conflict came earlier this week when CENTCOM commander General Michael Kurilla postponed his scheduled testimony before Congress, due to the rising threat in the Middle East.
Iran Escalating Belligerent Rhetoric
Rhetoric from Tehran is growing more belligerent in response to repeated White House declarations that Iran must not be allowed to enrich uranium in any deal reached with the United States.
Iran has repeatedly rejected any deal mandating destruction of Tehran’s nuclear facilities.
Thursday (June 12) marked the two-month deadline for the US to reach a nuclear deal with Iran that would eliminate Tehran’s drive toward a nuclear weapon, but US officials said a sixth round of talks could take place this coming Sunday in hopes of averting a war.
Iranian officials were more specific, claiming that talks were definitely set to take place this Sunday (June 15) in Oman.
But Tehran has not budged in its demands to keep its already-enriched uranium — which includes enough highly enriched uranium to create nine nuclear bombs within a brief period, according to reports from International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Mariano Grossi — as well as retain its nuclear development facilities.
Iran also says it’s ready for any attack on those sites.
Last week, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi repeated Iran’s emphasis that its nuclear development sites cannot be destroyed in any attack. “Iran’s nuclear program is based on indigenous knowledge and cannot be eliminated by bombing,” Araqchi told Lebanon’s Al-Manar television network in a June 4 interview.
“Our nuclear facilities are designed in a way that makes them not vulnerable, and nuclear materials are distributed in a manner that makes any decisive strike difficult,” he said. “Any aggression against Iran will have catastrophic consequences for the aggressors.”
Tehran Threatens Israel, US Middle East Bases
Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh warned Wednesday (June 11) that “any clash imposed on Iran will force the Islamic Republic to hit the targets it has specified [and] the losses of the enemy would outweigh ours.”
Iran claims to hold intelligence on an alleged “secret Israeli nuclear facility” which Tehran officials say will be one of the first targets. American military bases in the region would be equally targeted. The US maintains key bases and facilities in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Syria, and Iraq, with the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar considered the largest US military facility in the Middle East.
“In the event of confrontation, we will inflict heavy losses on the enemy in such a way that the US will have to leave the region, as all its bases are within our reach; we will not hesitate to target them.”
Nasirzadeh added that Iran carried out a “successful missile test with a two-ton warhead last week.”
Witkoff: Nuclear Iran Threatens the Free World
Speaking at a gala for United Hatzalah in New York, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said the US must never allow Iran to enrich uranium or develop nuclear capabilities – a declaration he has made repeatedly, quoting Trump.
“A nuclear Iran represents an existential threat to Israel, as does an Iran with a large amount of missiles. That is as big an existential threat as the nuclear threat. And this is an existential threat to the United States and the free world and the entire GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council),” Witkoff said.
“We must stand resolute and united against this danger and ensure that Iran never attains the means to achieve its deadly ambitions, no matter what the cost,” he warned.
IAEA Poised to Move Towards Snapback Sanctions
Earlier in the week, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council threatened to hit Israel’s “secret nuclear facilities” in a “proportional retaliation” to any attack on Iran’s nuclear sites.
Iran warned in an official letter to the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday that it may also withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if the European signatories to the fading 2015 JCPOA nuclear agreement reinstate sanctions against Tehran.
The warning came ahead of a vote by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors in Vienna on a resolution advanced by the US, Britain, France and Germany (the latter three known as the “E3”), condemning Iran for failing to cooperate with the IAEA over “undeclared nuclear activities.”
For the first time in 20 years, the IAEA’s 35-member board declared Iran to be non-compliant with its NPT Safeguards Agreement. The next step is a referral to the UN Security Council for reimposition of sanctions on Iran through the snapback mechanism (with a 30 day window) ahead of October, when the sanctions mandated under UN Security Council Resolution 2231 are set to expire.
