US discreetly moves diplomats and families from multiple Middle Eastern countries as escalation fears grow

By Jennifer Hansler, Kylie Atwood, Sean Lyngaas, Zachary Cohen, CNN

(CNN) — The United States is rushing to move some diplomats and their family members from posts in the Middle East as the threat of regional escalation looms, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

The departures have been described as a frustrating and chaotic déjà vu, as many of those leaving had only recently returned to their posts after being ordered out during the height of the Iran war.

“To say it has been chaotic is an understatement,” said one US diplomat, explaining that the financial support they have been offered to date does not cover the costs for moving their entire family from the region. Many of those families had scrambled then to leave their homes in the Middle East in the early weeks of the war and find new housing and schools for their kids. Now, many are having to do the same again, with what they say is potentially less financial support from the State Department.

“This echoes the chaos families experienced earlier this year. Some had barely settled back in before being told to leave again,” Nikki Gamer, the spokesperson for the American Foreign Service Association, told CNN. “They are understandably upset, confused, and angry.”

The adjustments come as the Iranian-backed Houthis have increased their attacks on Saudi Arabia – hostilities which the State Department has repeatedly warned “have the potential to escalate rapidly beyond that immediate area.”

They also come as US President Donald Trump has suggested he could relaunch strikes against Iran after the midterms, and as sources said Israel has lobbied – unsuccessfully for now – for more immediate action.

The State Department this week ordered the departure of non-emergency personnel and all family members from Saudi Arabia. Officials said the ordered departure was done in response to the Houthi escalations.

At the same time, it has been quietly adjusting its staffing levels at multiple other embassies in the Middle East, including Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Lebanon, sources told CNN.

Unlike the Saudi Arabia ordered departure, the movements from these embassies have not been publicly announced. The State Department has stressed that those embassies, unlike Saudi Arabia, have not changed status and remain on “restricted operations” status. Even when there is no formal change in status, there can still be a change in staffing within the “restricted operations” status.

“There’s a very Groundhog Day vibe,” a source in Amman said of some embassy staff being asked to leave the Jordanian capital again.

Not all of the embassies allowed children to return to the posts, but most allowed spouses to come back. Now, the family members are leaving those embassies to which they have only recently been allowed to return – but unlike earlier this year, sources say family members are not being given the same financial support.

Communication and coordination around the departures from the department’s headquarters in Foggy Bottom to foreign service officers in the field is “just as much of a shit show” as early on in the Iran war, said one source familiar with the departures.

There are concerns among foreign service officers about whether the State Department will give their families “per diem” allowances for relocating to the US, the source said, noting that some embassies haven’t had the planning meetings or town halls with staff that are typical before departures.

“A lot of people are hearing about it through the news instead of their leadership at post,” the source added.

The American Foreign Service Association, the union representing foreign service officers, said it is hearing accounts “of bureaucratic ping-pong.”

“Families that had barely returned to their posts and re-enrolled their children in school are being told to prepare to evacuate again without being advised as to what level of financial support they can count on,” it said in a statement Thursday.

Gamer, the spokesperson for AFSA, told CNN that “families outside Saudi Arabia have told AFSA they are being directed to leave without confirmed housing assistance or per diem.” They have been told this is because their embassies are not changing status from “restricted operations.”

Families often rely on those allowances to help them find housing and cover the unexpected costs associated with being uprooted from their homes abroad, especially if their diplomatic family member is remaining at the embassy as an essential worker.

“Families deserve to know how they will pay for a place to live before they board a plane,” Gamer said.

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