Washington, DC – The Associated Press reported that American diplomats and some of their family members, who left countries in the region during the initial weeks of the confrontation, have begun gradually returning to US embassies in the Middle East. This comes six months after the start of the conflict with Iran. In this context, the US State Department began easing some of the strict security restrictions imposed on its diplomatic staff earlier this week. On Friday, US embassies in Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain announced that family members of diplomats would be permitted to return. However, in Kuwait and Bahrain, this permission is limited to adults over the age of 18.
This decision follows previous measures that included allowing the return of families of government employees in Israel. It also included allowing the return of families of employees over the age of 21 working at the US mission in Lebanon. These restrictions and precautionary evacuations were implemented last March following Iranian attacks targeting US interests, embassies, and military installations in the region. These attacks were a response to joint US-Israeli strikes.
On the other hand, the Associated Press pointed out that the move to ease diplomatic restrictions does not necessarily reflect a fundamental policy shift in the Trump administration’s strategy toward Tehran. Rather, it is primarily related to bureaucratic and administrative regulations governing the length of time employees can be absent from their primary posts to ensure the continuation of their salaries and benefits. To achieve this, the State Department created a new administrative classification called “Limited Operations.” This classification aims to enable diplomatic missions to carry out their vital functions amidst ongoing regional tensions.
