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  "path": "/post/207150/mike-huckabee-just-sent-ominous-warning-us-staff-israel-war-iran",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-27T16:24:10.000Z",
  "site": "https://newrepublic.com",
  "tags": [
    "Breaking News",
    "Politics",
    "Mike Huckabee",
    "Iran",
    "Israel",
    "Iran nuclear program",
    "U.S. Embassy",
    "American military",
    "American embassy",
    "_The New York Times_",
    "official statement",
    "CNN",
    "warned the White House against"
  ],
  "textContent": "Tensions between the U.S. and Iran are boiling up, so much so that Trump administration officials are bypassing normal procedure to warn regional embassy staff to leave immediately.\n\nIn an early Friday email obtained by _The New York Times_, Ambassador Mike Huckabee announced to non-emergency workers at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem that they would be allowed to leave Israel—but added that if they intend to, they “should do so TODAY.”\n\nHuckabee noted that the directive followed meetings and phone calls through the night with the State Department, and that it was made out of “an abundance of caution.” The email made no explicit mention of Iran, according to the _Times_.\n\nThe notice “will likely result in high demand for airline seats today,” Huckabee wrote. “Focus on getting a seat to anyplace from which you can then continue travel to D.C., but the first priority will be getting expeditiously out of the country.”\n\nThe embassy updated its travel advisory for the region in an official statement, prohibiting travel to Gaza due to “terrorism and armed conflict and within 7 miles of the Gaza Periphery,” Northern Israel within “2.5 miles of the Lebanese and Syrian borders due to continued military presence and activity,” and the Egyptian border within “1.5 miles, except for the Taba crossing, which is open.”\n\nIt also urged travelers to “reconsider” travelling to “Israel due to terrorism and civil unrest,” and the “West Bank due to terrorism and civil unrest.”\n\n“Increased regional tensions can cause airlines to cancel and/or curtail flights into and out of Israel,” the memo reads.\n\nThe order and its timeline are highly unusual—embassy staff are typically provided several days’ notice in order to comply with state-mandated evacuations, with some warnings given as much as a month in advance of the anticipated departure date. In comparison, Huckabee’s 24-hour deadline is shockingly short.\n\nThe ambassador’s focus on the voluntary departure of non-emergency personnel suggests that the current status of the withdrawal amounts to an “authorized departure.”\n\nBut those with experience complying with such departures argue that the sudden announcement is a whopping display of disrespect.\n\nSince January 22, the U.S. has built an enormous military presence across a web of U.S. bases in the Middle East for the mere possibility of war, flooding ships—including Naval destroyers and aircraft carriers—and more than a dozen jets to the region, reported CNN.\n\nOn Monday, Trump announced on Truth Social that the potential for war with Iran is still very much on the table. Top U.S. military officials, meanwhile, have reportedly warned the White House against dragging the country into war with Iran, arguing that it could entangle America in a prolonged conflict.\n\nU.S. officials, including Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner—Trump’s son-in-law—met with an Iranian delegation in Geneva early Thursday to discuss the countries’ ongoing standoff. An adviser to Iran’s supreme leader told CNN that an “immediate agreement” could be within reach if the discussions singularly focus on Iran’s “non-production of nuclear weapons.”",
  "title": "Mike Huckabee Just Sent an Ominous Warning to U.S. Staff in Israel"
}