US to return diplomats to Middle East embassies after Iran war evacuations

The United States is preparing to send diplomats back to several embassies in the Middle East that were evacuated or downsized during the recent war with Iran, according to reports citing an internal State Department document. The move, which could begin as early as this week, signals that Washington believes the immediate threat of renewed full-scale hostilities has diminished, though officials caution that the risk has not disappeared entirely. The redeployment is planned for diplomatic posts in Israel, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Oman, Iraq, and Kuwait. According to the document, the first Foreign Service officers will return to the U.S.