US pulls nonessential staff from Beirut embassy as tensions with Iran ratchet up
Source: Yahoo! News/Military Times
Mon, February 23, 2026 at 4:20 PM EST
The United States has ordered nonessential personnel and their family members to leave its embassy in Beirut, a senior State Department official told Military Times on Monday, as Washington continues a massive military buildup in the Middle East. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information, said the drawdown is a “prudent” step to reduce the American footprint in the region while President Donald Trump mulls a strike on Iran.
“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 U.S. citizens.”
Embassies are often thinned when security threats in the region rise. Prior to Operation Midnight Hammer — the multipronged U.S. attack on three Iranian nuclear sites last June — the State Department withdrew nonessential personnel from posts in Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait and Lebanon.
Beirut was the site of deep trauma for the U.S. a generation ago. In 1983, Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed proxy group, killed 220 Marines, 18 Navy sailors and three Army soldiers in a suicide bombing of the Marine barracks in the city.
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-embassy-beirut-lebanon/
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