US asks non-emergency staff to exit Israel as Iran tension grows

Andrey Biryukov, Bloomberg News on Feb 27, 2026

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The U.S. has told non-emergency staff at its embassy in Jerusalem that they’re allowed to leave Israel, citing heightened safety risks.

Other countries including the U.K., China and India have advised citizens or diplomats to leave some parts of the Middle East.

Tensions between the U.S. and Iran remain high, with the two engaged in talks to avert American strikes on the Islamic Republic. Israel may join in on any attack and be targeted by Iranian retaliation.

The stand-off is weighing on Israeli financial markets, with the shekel having its worst two-day streak since June’s 12-day war with Iran. Oil prices are also 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.

In an update on Friday, Washington advised non-essential workers and family members to consider leaving while commercial flights are available. 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.

The warning follows a third round of nuclear talks in Geneva between U.S. and Iranian officials on Thursday. The sides agreed to reconvene as soon as next week, with technical talks potentially happening on Monday in Vienna. Even with the U.S. saying the door to further diplomacy remains open, President Donald Trump has amassed huge military forces in the Middle East.

A second aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, has entered the Middle East 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.

Australia, Poland, Finland, Sweden and Singapore are also among countries advising their citizens to leave some parts of the Middle East. The U.S. earlier announced it was pulling personnel from its embassy in Lebanon and the U.K. said in a statement Friday that it’s temporarily withdrawn staff from Iran while its embassy continues to operate on a remote basis.

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 and Christian Wienberg.