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Embassies evacuate in Mideast with Trump 'not happy' on Iran

Josh Wingrove and Andrey Biryukov, Bloomberg News on

Published in Political News

Countries including the U.S., U.K. and China evacuated embassy staff in the Middle East and issued travel advisories amid concerns about a regional conflict, as President Donald Trump on Friday sounded downbeat about diplomatic talks meant to avert airstrikes on Iran.

“We’re not happy with what’s going on. They should make a deal, they’d be smart if they made a deal,” Trump told reporters at the White House. The president added that there will be “additional talks today,” without providing details.

“We want no nuclear weapons by Iran, and they’re not saying those golden words,” Trump said.

The U.S. on Friday told non-emergency staff at its embassy in Jerusalem that they’re allowed to leave Israel — with the country being vulnerable to Iranian retaliation if it participates in a U.S. attack.

Washington issued a similar evacuation order for its diplomatic mission in Beirut on Monday. Other countries including the U.K., China and India have also advised citizens or diplomats to leave some parts of the Middle East.

Australia, Poland, Finland, Sweden and Singapore are among other countries advising citizens to leave the region. The U.K. also said it’s temporarily withdrawing diplomatic staff from Iran.

The flurry of evacuations and warnings comes as the U.S. continues to assemble a vast array of military forces in the region following Trump’s repeated threats to attack Iran and as diplomatic talks continue over Tehran’s nuclear program.

The latest round of U.S.-Iran negotiations took place on Thursday in Geneva, Switzerland. The two sides had agreed to reconvene as soon as next week, with technical talks potentially happening on Monday in Vienna. The Trump administration did not provide further specifics about any talks that might occur on Friday.

While Iran and Omani mediators sounded upbeat about making progress in the negotiations, a person familiar with the U.S. position said the Americans were leaving Geneva disappointed.

Amid the continued possibility of U.S. strikes in the energy-rich region, oil prices are rising with Brent crude up 2.6% to $72.61 a barrel as of 3:45 p.m. on Friday in London, its highest level since July.

“We haven’t made a final decision,” Trump said Friday. “They cannot have nuclear weapons, and we’re not thrilled with the way they’re negotiating.”

 

Given the likelihood of Israeli involvement in any conflict, the stand-off is weighing on the country’s financial markets, with the shekel having its worst two-day streak since June’s 12-day war with Iran.

In its diplomatic update on Friday, Washington advised non-essential workers and family members to consider leaving while commercial flights are available in Israel. Many airlines have suspended connections with Tel Aviv, Israel’s commercial capital.

The U.S. embassy said it may prohibit travel to certain areas such as Jerusalem’s Old City the West Bank for staff.

Even with the U.S. saying the door to further diplomacy remains open, Trump continues to gather forces in the Middle East.

A second aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, has entered the region and is now in Israeli waters, according to local media. It could join in any attack of Iran or help defend Israel and U.S. assets against Iranian counter-strikes.

The tensions have also prompted two of the world’s five top container carriers to reroute a number of vessels away from the the Red Sea, an area in which the Iran-backed Houthi militants are active.

A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S said that “unforeseen constraints” led the Danish company to divert some vessels and make them sail south of Africa instead of through the Suez Canal.

That move was mirrored by Hamburg, Germany-based Hapag-Lloyd AG, Maersk’s partner in a vessel-sharing alliance, which cited “unforeseen constraints to the available security assistance in the Red Sea region.”

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—With assistance from Sachin Ravikumar, Brendan Murray, Grant Smith, Christian Wienberg, Carla Canivete and Golnar Motevalli.


©2026 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

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