The Trump administration has ordered more U.S. diplomats to leave the Middle East, an indication of the ongoing security threat posed by Iran’s retaliatory attacks more than a week into the conflict.
An “ordered departure” went out Monday to nonessential American staff and their families at the U.S. Consulate in Adana, in southern Turkey, according to the State Department. A similar notice had been sent Sunday to staff at the U.S. diplomatic mission in Saudi Arabia.
Additional mandatory departures could be imminent. U.S. diplomats were coordinating on an “overland evacuation” contingency plan for the remaining U.S. personnel at the consulate in Irbil to travel to Turkey, according to a State Department cable from last week reviewed by The Washington Post. American staff at the U.S. missions in Baghdad and Irbil were ordered to leave the country last week, but a core group of personnel remain.
In an email sent to staff Saturday, a senior State Department official expressed concern for those affected, noting how ordered departures from U.S. missions can bring “uncertainty” for diplomats and their families. “Please check in with one another, take care of your own well-being and make use of Department resources as needed,” Jason S. Evans, undersecretary for management, wrote in a message to those affected throughout the Middle East.
The State Department did not respond to request for comment.
The latest departure orders, more than a week after the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran’s military and political leadership began Feb. 28, are likely to add to criticisms of State Department leadership accused of being caught off-guard by the attacks and Iran’s response.
“The State Department prepares and plans for crises and evacuations constantly, and I have heard no good justification for why more was not done to ensure the safety of Americans earlier,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The State Department previously issued ordered departure notices to U.S. personnel in Bahrain and Kuwait while several staff and their families in other countries were authorized for voluntary departures.
The danger facing U.S. diplomatic facilities does not appear isolated to countries near the Persian Gulf and Israel. The U.S. Consulate in Karachi, in Pakistan, came under attack by a large crowd March 1, leading to the deaths of at least 10 people who were shot by police.
Norwegian police said Monday that an explosion that occurred outside the U.S. Embassy in Oslo may have been a deliberate attack. The State Department also issued a warning Monday for Americans in Nigeria, cautioning that there could be a “possible terrorist threat against U.S. facilities and U.S. affiliated schools” there.
According to a State Department cable reviewed by The Post, an incident Monday morning at the U.S. Consulate in Adana triggered a “duck-and-cover” siren. The siren was also triggered at Incirlik Air Base, a joint Turkish-U.S. facility less than five miles from the consulate. Turkish officials later said that NATO forces shot down a missile in Turkey’s airspace.
Several U.S. embassies and consulates have been struck in suspected Iranian strikes over the past week, including an embassy building in Kuwait City and the consulate in Dubai.
While most sustained relatively minor damage, the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia appeared to have been hit harder in a strike that occurred Monday.
Parts of the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia were “unrecoverable” and must be sealed off after being struck in the suspected drone attack, according to an internal State Department assessment.
The assessment, which was published Friday and reviewed by The Post, stated that the “least-damaged” parts of the embassy may be habitable again in roughly one month, while in “more damaged” areas it may take roughly three to four months to recover.
The attack had hit the CIA’s station on the top floor of the building, The Post reported last week. Many U.S. diplomats live near the embassy, which lies in Riyadh’s diplomatic quarter.
The State Department has not announced any serious injuries among staff working at the diplomatic facilities targeted. Seven U.S. service members have been killed in the conflict so far; six were based in Kuwait and one in Saudi Arabia.
The State Department said Monday that it had conducted “over two dozen” charter flights from the Middle East that have allowed it to evacuate “thousands” of Americans amid the conflict.
“At this time, seats available on the Department’s charter options are significantly greater than the demand from Americans in the region,” Dylan Johnson, a senior State Department official, said in an emailed statement.
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