The State Department authorized non-emergency U.S. government personnel and family members to leave Israel on February 27 due to safety risks. Ambassador Mike Huckabee sent an internal email instructing those wishing to leave to “do so TODAY,” warning commercial flights could become unavailable without notice. Essential diplomatic, security, military, political and intelligence personnel remain in country.
The evacuation came hours before President Trump told reporters he had not made a final decision on strikes but remained frustrated with Tehran’s refusal to meet American demands.
Trump claimed during his February 25 State of the Union address that Iran is rebuilding nuclear facilities struck during Operation Midnight Hammer last June. He said the U.S. “obliterated Iran’s nuclear weapons program” in those strikes and warned Iran had “already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas” while “working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America.”
The president told Congress his preference is to solve the crisis through diplomacy but declared Iran cannot have nuclear weapons. “We are in negotiations with them,” he said. “They want to make a deal, but we haven’t heard those secret words, ‘We will never have a nuclear weapon.'”
Trump claimed Iranian security forces killed 32,000 protesters during recent demonstrations. He said Iran’s regime “and its murderous proxies have spread nothing but terrorism and death and hate.”
A White House fact sheet released February 6 stated Trump “recently deployed a massive armada to the region, urging Iran to come to the table and negotiate a fair, equitable deal with no nuclear weapons, or face even stronger consequences.”
China advised its citizens to evacuate Iran, citing rising security risks. Canada warned citizens in Iran that hostilities could resume with little warning. Britain temporarily withdrew UK personnel from regional posts.
Trump told reporters he is “not happy with the fact that they’re not willing to give us what we have to have.” Additional negotiations were scheduled for later that day.
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