US urges staff to leave embassy in Israel amid threats from Iran

The United States recommended, this Friday (27), the departure of non-essential government employees from its embassy in Israel, amid threats of an American attack on Iran that raise fears of an explosion of regional violence.

O announcement comes a day after a third round of talks between Iran and the US under Omani mediation, considered a last attempt to avoid a war.

Washington wants to prevent Iran develops nuclear weaponsa fear of Western powers, repeatedly denied by Tehran.

The New York Times reported on Friday that the American ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, sent an email to embassy staff stating that those who wished to leave should “do so TODAY”.

The American Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, will travel to Israel on Monday for talks with authorities on “regional priorities”, including Iran. On February 19, the President of the United States, Donald Trumpgave an ultimatum of “10 to 15 days” to decide whether it was possible to reach an agreement or whether to resort to force.

For now, Washington carried out the largest military mobilization in decades in the region, which includes two aircraft carriers. One of them is the USS Gerald Ford, the largest in the world, which left Crete on Thursday and is expected to reach the Israeli coast.

The British Foreign Ministry also announced the transfer of part of its diplomatic staff in Tel Aviv, where its embassy is located, to “another location within Israel”. The German ministry of the same name “urgently” advised against its citizens traveling to Israel this Friday. China also urged its citizens on Friday to leave Iran “as quickly as possible”, while the British Foreign Office announced the withdrawal of its diplomatic corps from the country.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said this Friday that he is “alarmed” by the risk of a “regional military escalation and its consequences for the civilian population”.

*AFP