Washington has evacuated dozens of non-essential personnel from its embassy in Lebanon as US ships and warplanes have been positioned in the region for a potential strike against Iran in the coming days.

The diplomatic drawdown followed reports that dozens of US personnel had been evacuated through Lebanon’s Beirut-Rafic Hariri international airport to protect them from a possible Iranian counterattack if tensions between the US and Iran escalate into war. Roughly 30-50 US embassy personnel have left the country, estimates suggest.

The US and Iran are scheduled to hold a third round of indirect talks in Geneva on Thursday on limiting Iran’s nuclear programme. Donald Trump has said that he wants a “meaningful deal” that will prevent Iran from seeking to build a nuclear weapon and warned that “bad things” would happen if no deal was made.

The US has evacuated personnel from its embassies and military bases as part of its preparations for armed conflict with Iran in the past. In 2025, the US temporarily evacuated non-essential personnel from embassies in Iraq, Bahrain and Kuwait before launching strikes on Iranian uranium enrichment and other facilities linked to its nuclear programme.

“The Department of State has ordered the departure of non-emergency US government personnel and eligible family members from US embassy Beirut,” a senior state department official said on Monday. “We continuously assess the security environment, and based on our latest review, we determined it prudent to reduce our footprint to essential personnel.”

“The embassy remains operational with core staff in place,” the statement continued. “This is a temporary measure intended to ensure the safety of our personnel while maintaining our ability to operate and assist US citizens.”

US officials have warned that Iran could react by launching missiles at US embassies and military bases, or by greenlighting asymmetrical attacks through its proxy forces in the region. US diplomatic facilities are seen as a likely target for Iranian-backed militias such as Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Iran held joint military drills with Russia last week during which it tested new anti-ship missiles that it could use to shut down the strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important trade arteries.

Steve Witkoff, the Trump envoy who has led negotiations with Iran, said on Saturday that the president was confused why Iran had not yet “capitulated” in talks over its nuclear programme.

“I don’t want to use the word ‘frustrated’, because he understands he has plenty of alternatives, but he’s curious as to … why they haven’t capitulated,” Witkoff said during an interview with Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law, aired on Fox News on Saturday.

He continued: “Why, under this pressure – with the amount of sea power and naval power over there – why haven’t they come to us and said: ‘We profess we don’t want a weapon, so here’s what we’re prepared to do’? And yet, it’s sort of hard to get them to that place.”

The US has also begun withdrawing its military from bases in Syria, Reuters reported, citing local sources, in a personnel drawdown from another potential target for an Iranian counterattack. The Trump administration has denied that the evacuation there is related to a potential strike on Iran.

The US has sent two aircraft carriers, as well as dozens of warplanes, combat ships, and advanced aircraft including Awacs jets to the region in the largest buildup of US military firepower since before the Iraq war. The USS Gerald Ford, the second aircraft carrier deployed to the region, will be in position in several days and arrived in Souda Bay off of Crete, where the US has a major naval base.