US Prepares to Return Diplomats to Middle East Embassies Amid Easing Tensions

The US State Department is preparing to redeploy diplomats to Middle Eastern embassies that were evacuated before and during the recent conflict. According to an internal document and statements from three US officials speaking to The New York Times, the return of foreign service personnel and the rollback of emergency measures could begin as early as this week. The first embassy to restore its staff will be in Beirut.

Under the plan, embassies in Israel, Jordan, and Oman will resume full staffing, while those in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Lebanon will operate at 85 percent capacity. Embassies in Iraq, Kuwait, and Bahrain will be limited to 75 percent staffing. Additionally, the State Department will enforce restrictions on bringing family members to the six Gulf countries and Lebanon.

The evacuations started at the end of February, one day before the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran, amid drone and rocket assaults on American facilities in the Gulf. Former senior officials interpret the redeployment as a sign of some de-escalation and an assessment that the war is subsiding, despite ongoing tensions and the stalemate in ceasefire talks that expired last week. However, the family restrictions indicate that the risk remains elevated compared to pre-war conditions and do not rule out possible future US actions.