US moves diplomats and families from multiple Middle Eastern countries as escalation fears grow

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The United States is rushing to move some diplomats and their family members from posts in the Middle East as the threat of regional escalation looms, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

The departures have been described as a frustrating and chaotic déjà vu, as many of those leaving had only recently returned to their posts after being ordered out during the height of the Iran war.

“To say it has been chaotic is an understatement,” said one US diplomat, explaining that the financial support they have been offered to date does not cover the costs for moving their entire family from the region. Many of those families had scrambled then to leave their homes in the Middle East in the early weeks of the war and find new housing and schools for their kids. Now, many are having to do the same again, with what they say is potentially less financial support from the State Department.

“This echoes the chaos families experienced earlier this year. Some had barely settled back in before being told to leave again,” Nikki Gamer, the spokesperson for the American Foreign Service Association, told CNN. “They are understandably upset, confused, and angry.”

The adjustments come as the Iranian-backed Houthis have increased their attacks on Saudi Arabia – hostilities which the State Department has repeatedly warned “have the potential to escalate rapidly beyond that immediate area.”

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They also come as US President Donald Trump has suggested he could relaunch strikes against Iran after the midterms, and as sources said Israel has lobbied – unsuccessfully for now – for more immediate action.

The State Department this week ordered the departure of non-emergency personnel and all family members from Saudi Arabia. Officials said the ordered departure was done in response to the Houthi escalations.

At the same time, it has been quietly adjusting its staffing levels at multiple other embassies in the Middle East, including Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Lebanon, sources told CNN.

Unlike the Saudi Arabia ordered departure, the movements from these embassies have not been publicly announced. The State Department has stressed that those embassies, unlike Saudi Arabia, have not changed status and remain on “restricted operations” status. Even when there is no formal change in status, there can still be a change in staffing within the “restricted operations” status.

“There’s a very Groundhog Day vibe,” a source in Amman said of some embassy staff being asked to leave the Jordanian capital again.

Not all of the embassies allowed children to return to the posts, but most allowed spouses to come back. Now, the family members are leaving those embassies to which they have only recently been allowed to return – but unlike earlier this year, sources say family members are not being given the same financial support.

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Communication and coordination around the departures from the department’s headquarters in Foggy Bottom to foreign service officers in the field is “just as much of a shit show” as early on in the Iran war, said one source familiar with the departures.

There are concerns among foreign service officers about whether the State Department will give their families “per diem” allowances for relocating to the US, the source said, noting that some embassies haven’t had the planning meetings or town halls with staff that are typical before departures.

“A lot of people are hearing about it through the news instead of their leadership at post,” the source added.

The American Foreign Service Association, the union representing foreign service officers, said it is hearing accounts “of bureaucratic ping-pong.”

“Families that had barely returned to their posts and re-enrolled their children in school are being told to prepare to evacuate again without being advised as to what level of financial support they can count on,” it said in a statement Thursday.

Gamer, the spokesperson for AFSA, told CNN that “families outside Saudi Arabia have told AFSA they are being directed to leave without confirmed housing assistance or per diem.” They have been told this is because their embassies are not changing status from “restricted operations.”

Families often rely on those allowances to help them find housing and cover the unexpected costs associated with being uprooted from their homes abroad, especially if their diplomatic family member is remaining at the embassy as an essential worker.

“Families deserve to know how they will pay for a place to live before they board a plane,” Gamer said.

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据多位知情人士透露，随着地区局势升级的威胁迫在眉睫，美国正紧急将一些驻中东的外交官及其家属撤离。

这次人员离职被形容为令人沮丧和混乱的似曾相识之事，因为许多离职人员此前在伊朗战争高峰期被命令撤离，不久前才返回岗位。

一位美国外交官表示：“说情况混乱都算是轻描淡写了。”他解释说，迄今为止他们获得的财政援助不足以支付全家撤离该地区的费用。战争爆发初期，许多家庭就曾仓促离开中东的家园，为孩子寻找新的住所和学校。如今，许多家庭不得不再次经历同样的困境，而且他们表示，国务院提供的财政援助可能会减少。

“这与今年早些时候一些家庭经历的混乱局面如出一辙。有些人刚安顿下来，就被告知要再次离开，”美国外交协会发言人妮基·加默告诉CNN。“他们感到沮丧、困惑和愤怒，这是可以理解的。”

这些调整出台之际，正值伊朗支持的胡塞武装加大了对沙特阿拉伯的袭击力度——美国国务院曾多次警告称，敌对行动“有可能迅速升级到超出该区域的范围”。

艾哈迈德·阿尔-巴沙/法新社/盖蒂图片社

与此同时，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普暗示他可能会在中期选举后重新对伊朗发动袭击，消息人士称以色列一直在游说——但目前尚未成功——采取更迅速的行动。

美国国务院本周下令所有非紧急人员及其家属撤离沙特阿拉伯。官员表示，此举是为了应对胡塞武装的升级行动。

据 CNN 报道，与此同时，美国政府一直在悄悄调整其在中东其他多个大使馆的人员配置水平，包括约旦、巴林、科威特、卡塔尔、阿拉伯联合酋长国和黎巴嫩等国。

与沙特阿拉伯下令撤离不同，这些大使馆的人员变动并未公开宣布。美国国务院强调，与沙特阿拉伯不同，这些大使馆的地位并未改变，仍处于“受限运作”状态。即使地位没有正式改变，在“受限运作”状态下，人员配置仍可能发生变动。

安曼的一位消息人士称，一些使馆工作人员再次被要求离开约旦首都，这让人感觉“就像电影《土拨鼠日》一样”。

并非所有使馆都允许子女返回驻地，但大多数使馆允许配偶返回。如今，这些家属正离开他们不久前才被允许返回的使馆——但消息人士称，与今年早些时候不同的是，家属们并没有得到同样的经济支持。

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一位熟悉人员调动情况的消息人士称，国务院位于雾谷的总部与一线外交官之间的沟通和协调，与伊朗战争初期一样“一团糟”。

消息人士称，外交官们担心国务院是否会向其家人发放搬迁到美国的“每日津贴”，并指出一些大使馆还没有像往常一样在出发前与工作人员举行计划会议或全体会议。

“很多人都是通过新闻而不是从单位领导那里得知此事的，”消息人士补充道。

代表外交官的美国外交协会表示，他们听到了“官僚机构之间​​互相推诿”的说法。

声明周四称：“一些家庭刚刚返回岗位，孩子也重新入学，就被告知要做好再次撤离的准备，但却没有被告知他们可以指望获得多少经济援助。”

美国驻沙特阿拉伯家庭协会（AFSA）发言人加默告诉CNN，“身处沙特阿拉伯境外的家庭告诉AFSA，他们被要求离开，但没有得到确认的住房援助或每日津贴。”他们被告知，这是因为他们的使馆没有改变“受限运营”的状态。

许多家庭往往依靠这些津贴来帮助他们寻找住房，并支付因被迫离开国外家园而产生的意外费用，尤其是当他们的外交官家庭成员作为必要工作人员留在使馆时。

“家庭在登机前有权知道他们将如何支付住宿费用，”加默说。