Al-Hadath TV reported, quoting a source close to the US Embassy in Beirut, that the embassy has begun evacuating a number of its employees out of Lebanon, without specifying the size of this measure or its duration.
This move is attributed to preventive measures being taken in light of current regional developments, with no official announcement from the embassy in this regard yet.
The US Embassy in Beirut did not issue any official confirmation or denial of these circulating news, while the Lebanese official authorities preferred not to comment on what the channel reported.
This development comes in light of the escalation of tension between Washington and Iran in recent weeks, due to complex issues that include the Iranian nuclear program, the spread of American forces in the Middle East, and direct and indirect mutual attacks in multiple regional regions.
The past period has witnessed an increase in military and security indicators, including the strengthening of the American presence in the region, repeated warnings of the danger of expanding the scope of the conflict, in addition to the exchange of sharp political messages between the two parties, which has raised security concerns among Western diplomatic missions in a number of countries in the region.
For Lebanon, this situation coincides with an ongoing Israeli escalation in the south, and growing fears that the Lebanese arena is sliding into a broader conflict, which has previously prompted some embassies to reduce the number of their staff or update travel guidelines for their citizens.
In similar regional contexts, the US State Department had issued security warnings specific to Lebanon, urging its citizens to be cautious, while other diplomatic missions took precautionary administrative measures, but they did not reach the point of complete evacuation.
Pending any official statement clarifying the reality of the action and its extent, the information circulating remains limited to transmission from a close source, amid political and security anticipation of what will result from developments between Washington and Tehran and its repercussions on the situation in Lebanon.
