1 week ago
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By MATTHEW LEE, AP Diplomatic Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States has ordered nonessential diplomats and their family members at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut to leave Lebanon, the State Department said Monday, as tensions over Iran rise with the threat of a potentially imminent military strike.
The department said in an updated travel alert for U.S. citizens in Lebanon that it “ordered the departure of non-emergency U.S. government personnel and family members of government personnel due to the security situation in Beirut.”
The alert, which was formally released several hours after word began to circulate about the move, said U.S. personnel remaining in Lebanon would have their in-country travel restricted.
A department official said earlier that a continuous assessment of the regional security environment determined it was “prudent” to draw down the U.S. Embassy Beirut’s footprint so that only essential personnel remain at their posts.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity before the move was formally announced, said that it is a temporary measure and that the embassy will remain operational.
Lebanon has been the site of numerous Iran-related retaliatory attacks against U.S. facilities, interests and personnel for decades given Tehran’s support for and influence with t...
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