The administration of US President Donald Trump has begun the process of returning staff to a number of the country’s diplomatic missions in the Middle East that had been evacuated or reduced in activity following rising tensions and war with Iran.
Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that US missions in Lebanon, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Baghdad are among the locations where staff will return, and that family members of staff will also be allowed to return to the US mission in Riyadh.
This action indicates that Washington assesses the likelihood of an immediate escalation of the conflict with Iran as reduced, although some embassies will not initially operate at full capacity.
According to this report, some agencies will initially operate with a maximum of 85 percent of their authorized manpower capacity, and the process of returning a number of employees may begin this week.
The United States withdrew some of its mission staff from Middle Eastern countries after the joint US-Israeli attacks against Iran began on February 28.
During these tensions, a number of US embassies in Gulf Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, were targeted by Iranian attacks, and the US mission in Kuwait was also temporarily closed.
