Steve Witkoff, Abbas Araghchi Photo: Reuters
The United States is on high alert due to the threat of a possible Israeli strike on Iran, The Washington Post reports. Negotiations between Washington and Tehran on a nuclear deal have reached an impasse, and a number of signals point to rising military tensions in the region.
According to sources, the US State Department has activated emergency protocols for all embassies in the range of Iranian missiles – from the Middle East to North Africa. Emergency evacuations affected the staff of embassies in Baghdad, Bahrain and Kuwait. At the same time, personnel in Iraq are being partially evacuated in connection with possible strikes on US bases.
Against the backdrop of CBS News reports that Israel has completed preparations for a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, Washington is growing fearful of a retaliatory response from Tehran. According to US intelligence estimates, in the event of an attack, Tehran could fire hundreds of missiles at Israeli targets and strike US bases in Iraq.
President Donald Trump, while remaining cautious, is losing faith in a diplomatic solution. His special envoy, Steve Witkoff, who is due to meet with the Iranian foreign minister in Oman this weekend, confirmed this: “An Iran with missiles is already a threat – even without nuclear weapons. Trump himself said that he was not giving Israel the green light for a military operation, but he did not explicitly rule out such a possibility.
Meanwhile, Tehran openly warns that if war is imposed, it will respond immediately. Iran’s defence minister has said that the United States will “suffer serious losses” and be forced to leave the region. Iran has repeatedly stressed that it does not seek nuclear weapons, but will not give up its right to enrich uranium on its own territory.
The situation is deteriorating by the hour. CENTCOM’s High Command is postponing its public statements, and Tehran is already convening crisis councils to approve a response scenario. At the same time, the US military is preparing to evacuate diplomats not only from Iraq but also from other hotspots.
The market reacted immediately, with global oil prices rising by 5%. And while diplomats are leaving, the military on both sides are preparing for the worst.
