With the threat of a U.S. strike on Iran looming, the United States embassy in Jerusalem has told its workers that they may leave Israel and warned them that if they want to, it is vital that they do so immediately.
The directive came from Ambassador Mike Huckabee in an email to embassy workers at the U.S. mission on Friday, a copy of which was reviewed by The New York Times.
The move followed meetings and phone calls through the night, Mr. Huckabee wrote in the email, which made no explicit mention of Iran. He said it resulted from “an abundance of caution” and conversations with the State Department in which officials agreed that the safety of embassy staff was a priority.
Those wishing to leave “should do so TODAY,” Mr. Huckabee continued, urging them to find a flight out of Ben-Gurion Airport to any destination for which they could book passage.
The embassy’s move “will likely result in high demand for airline seats today,” he said in the email. “Focus on getting a seat to anyplace from which you can then continue travel to DC, but the first priority will be getting expeditiously out of country.”
He added that while there might be more outbound flights in the coming days, there also might not be.
Already, KLM, the Dutch airline, has suspended service to Israel, citing “commercial and operational considerations.”
The email was verified by three people with knowledge of the matter.
Israel is a likely target for retaliation by Iran or its allies if it is attacked by the United States.
In the email, Mr. Huckabee told embassy employees that the mission had shifted to an “authorized departure” footing as of 10 a.m. Friday. That allows nonessential personnel and their dependents to evacuate at the government’s expense when “U.S. national interests or imminent threat to life requires it,” according to State Department regulations.
Mr. Huckabee told embassy workers that he would hold a town-hall meeting to provide additional information at 12:30 p.m.
“There is no need to panic,” Mr. Huckabee wrote, “but for those desiring to leave, it’s important to make plans to depart sooner rather than later.”
Iran and the United States concluded a six-hour round of talks in Geneva on Thursday with neither a diplomatic breakthrough nor an impasse on American demands that Tehran completely dismantle its nuclear program.
Iranian officials and Omani mediators said the two sides had agreed to continue talking next week in an effort to avert war. But it was notable that the two American negotiators, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, remained silent about the current status of negotiations, with the White House declining to comment.
American officials have said that among the options Mr. Trump is considering are initial targeted strikes on military and nuclear sites in Iran to force the government into giving more concessions for a deal and, if that failed, more widespread strikes, including creating conditions for regime change.
The State Department issued a travel advisory on Friday in which it confirmed the shift to authorized departure for the U.S. mission in Israel, and urged other Americans to “reconsider travel” to both Israel and the West Bank, citing “terrorism and civil unrest.”
The State Department has taken precautions already elsewhere in the region. On Monday, the U.S. embassy in Lebanon ordered the departure of all non-emergency personnel and the family members of all government personnel.
Other countries are making similar moves. Australia said on Wednesday that the dependents of its diplomats in Israel and Lebanon should leave those countries, and has offered voluntary departures to the dependents of its staff in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Jordan.
Adam Rasgon contributed reporting.
Natan Odenheimer is a Times reporter in Jerusalem, covering Israeli and Palestinian affairs.
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