US State Dept authorizes departure of staff in Middle East- Partial evac of Iraq Embassy

Non essential to leave- Others placed on high alert– Not iron clad, but certainly can’t be dismissed.

Forex

USD/JPY has fallen further on a report that the Naval Support activity in Bahrain has been placed on ‘high alert’ with dependants of service members being told to prepare for evacuation.

The logical jump here is that something could be happening with Iran.

The S&P 500 quickly drop by 30 points on the headlines and USD/JPY hit a session low of 144.33. Oil has been surging all day and is now at fresh session highs, up nearly $3 on the day.

The bases in Bahrain and Kuwait would be two of the closest US operations to Iran. Bahrain hosts the headquarters for US Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) and the U.S. 5th Fleet. That includes approximately 8,300 US personnel and dependents. Kuwait hosts Camp Arifjan, which is a massive army installation that routinely hosts 10,000-plus troops and personnel along with Camp Buehring, which can also host 18,000 personnel along with two other bases.

The reporting of a partial base evacuation is also interesting- One would think it possible that Iran, if struck by Usrael, might hit the Iraqi base in retaliation- Nothing is off the table.

US preparing to partially evacuate Iraq embassy

The United States is preparing a partial evacuation of its Iraqi embassy and will allow military dependents to leave locations around the Middle East due to heightened security risks in the region, US and Iraqi sources said Wednesday.

“The State Department regularly reviews American personnel abroad and this decision was made as a result of a recent review,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told Reuters when asked about reports of the partial evacuations, without giving further details.

A White House official said US President Donald Trump was aware of the move.

The partial evacuations come at a moment of heightened tensions in a region already aflame after 18 months of war in Gaza that has raised fears of a wider conflagration pitting the US and Israel against Iran and its allies.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to strike Iran if stuttering talks over its nuclear programme fail and Wednesday he said he was growing less confident that Tehran would agree to stop enriching uranium, a key American demand.