'Leave Israel today': US ambassador advises immediate departure for embassy staff as Iran tensions rise

Move comes as US-Iran nuclear talks continue in Geneva and tensions rise over possible American action.

• US embassy in Israel allows non-essential staff to leave
• Staff urged to depart immediately due to rising security concerns
• Iran, US make progress in Geneva nuclear talks, differences remain

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US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee urged embassy staff on Friday to leave the country immediately if they wished to depart, citing security concerns, according to a report by the New York Times.

In an email sent to US mission employees at 10:24 am local time on Thursday, Huckabee said those who wanted to leave “should do so TODAY” and advised them to secure seats on outbound flights from Ben-Gurion Airport as soon as possible, the New York Times reported.

The embassy has shifted to an “authorised departure” status, allowing non-essential personnel and their family members to leave at government expense. Huckabee wrote that the decision was taken out of “an abundance of caution” after consultations with the State Department.

He told staff there was no need to panic but advised that those choosing to leave should do so sooner rather than later as tensions rise.

The United States and Iran made “significant progress” in the third round of nuclear talks in Geneva on Thursday, according to Oman, which is mediating the discussions.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who led Tehran’s delegation, described the negotiations as among the “most intense and longest rounds” of talks. He said “good progress” had been made and that agreement was reached on some issues, though differences remain on others. He said the next round would take place in less than a week.

Iranian state media reported that Tehran’s negotiators reaffirmed Iran’s right to pursue peaceful nuclear energy. They rejected US demands to halt uranium enrichment completely and to transfer the country’s 400 kg stockpile of enriched uranium abroad.

On Friday, Iran said the United States would have to drop its “excessive demands” on Tehran’s missile programme after the Wall Street Journal reported that President Donald Trump’s negotiating team would demand that Iran dismantle its three main nuclear sites and hand over all remaining enriched uranium to the United States.

In a conversation with his Egyptian counterpart, Araghchi said “success in this path requires seriousness and realism from the other side and avoidance of any miscalculation and excessive demands”.

In his State of the Union address, Trump said Iran had “already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas” and was working to build missiles that would soon reach the United States.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said ahead of the talks that the Islamic republic was not “at all” seeking a nuclear weapon.

Several countries, including India, have advised their citizens to evacuate Iran.