U.S. embassy staff stationed in Israel were reportedly told Friday if they wanted to leave the country, they should do so quickly amid the possibility of strikes against Iran.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee sent staff members an email on Friday instructing them that if they want to leave, they “should do so TODAY,” according to The New York Times. The directive comes after several meetings and phone calls throughout the night before, Huckabee wrote, but the email did not explicitly cite Iran as a reason.
Instead, Huckabee said the guidance came from “an abundance of caution” as well as conversations with State Department officials. The ambassador added there is “no reason to panic.”
“For those desiring to leave, it’s important to make plans to depart sooner rather than later,” the email read, according to reports.
Huckabee acknowledged that the guidance could result in “high demand for airline seats today,” suggesting staff members should “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 (the) country.”
The email also came just hours after the embassy authorized nonessential personnel to leave the base.
The directive comes as the United States considers potential strikes against Iran, which President Donald Trump said would be decided within the next few days.
U.S. officials have been engaged in talks with Iranian officials in an attempt to broker a nuclear agreement, with the most recent meeting taking place in Geneva on Thursday. Details of those talks are not clear.
Meanwhile, China has advised its citizens to avoid traveling to Iran and for those already in the country to evacuate as soon as possible, according to Reuters. Britain similarly announced it would take precautionary measures to temporarily withdraw U.K. staff from Iran” amid the “ongoing security situation.”
Trump has been publicly suggesting for weeks the U.S. could strike Iran if a deal is not made, although the president has not shared whether he has made a final decision. The president has, however, built up a large force of warships and military firepower in the Middle East — the largest military presence the U.S. has amassed in the area in decades.
The president only briefly touched on the topic during his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, leaving several questions unanswered about what he plans to do. Trump instead just confirmed the U.S. is “in negotiations with them.”
“They want to make a deal,” he said. “But we haven’t heard those secret words: ‘We will never have a nuclear weapon.’”
Top congressional leaders huddled with Secretary of State Marco Rubio for what is known as a Gang of Eight meeting hours before the State of the Union address to ask questions about the situation in Iran. Details of the meeting are classified, but Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., emerged from the briefing saying the Trump administration “has to make its case to the American people as something as important as this.”
House Democratic leadership said they would force a vote next week to rein in Trump’s military authority in the area, although it’s not clear if it has enough support to pass.
Iran, for its part, has threatened to retaliate, warning that it would strike against U.S. bases in the region if attacked.