US strikes on Iran imminent : key signs

newsweek.com · Feb 27, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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Some U.S. embassy staff in Israel have been told to leave the country quickly in a message which will be seen as another sign of a possible American attack on Iran as threatened by President Donald Trump. U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said in an email to staff at the American mission that those wishing to leave should "do so TODAY," according to The New York Times, in a report confirmed by other outlets. "Everybody is under the impression that this move is an indication that we are getting closer to the decision to take action ," Brig. Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser, former head of IDF Military Intelligence research, told Newsweek. There is growing anticipation over whether Trump would act on his repeated pledges to intervene in Iran following an American military buildup in the region, which included the arrival of aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford in Israel on Friday, according to Reuters. "The evacuations are another signal that the United States is moving toward military action, despite the fact that Trump has provided no clear casus belli or presented a discernable endgame," Jon Hoffman, research fellow, at the Cato Institute, a think tank, told Newsweek on Friday. Huckabee said, according to reports, that the guidance was issued out of "an abundance of caution" following consultations, including with the State Department, which Newsweek has contacted for comment. Retired U.S. Vice Admiral Robert Murrett told Newsweek Friday that the message to the staff in Israel was "noteworthy, but I don't think it reflects any specific final decisions" by the White House. Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department rejected reports that nonessential staff had been evacuated from the U.S. missions in Iraq and Kuwait. Earlier this week, a State Department official had confirmed to The Hill that non-emergency personnel from the mission in Beirut had been evacuated. The U.K. Foreign Office said Friday that UK staff had been temporarily withdrawn from Iran although its embassy continues to operate remotely....Talks between American and Iranian officials in Geneva on Thursday over the Islamic republic’s nuclear program offered no breakthrough. Iran has repeatedly said it would strike back against American bases and allies in the region if Trump launches a military attack against the Islamic Republic. The U.S. State Department said Friday on its website that in response to security incidents and without advance notice, the U.S. Embassy may further restrict or prohibit American government employees and their families from traveling to "certain areas of Israel, the Old City of Jerusalem, and the West Bank." "Persons may wish to consider leaving Israel while commercial flights are available," the statement added. Murrett, professor of practice at Syracuse University, said that the message was "an indicator, although I would caution against the thinking of that as a reflection of a final decision that's been made by the White House to conduct military operations." Previously, these orders have been made "to be cautious and in case you do make a short notice decision to actually conduct a limited or more extensive operation," Murrett added. ...U.S. Military Buildup The USS Gerald R. Ford arrived in Israel as part of the latest buildup of air and naval power around Iran. Trump had threatened to strike in response to the Islamic Republic’s violent crackdown against protests and is also weighing military action if there is no breakthrough in negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program, which took place in Geneva on Thursday. On February 19, Trump publicly warned that Iran had about "10 to 15 days" to reach a "meaningful" nuclear agreement with Washington, which according to reports, wants Tehran to dismantle its main nuclear facilities and transfer its enriched uranium stockpile. However, Iran would be unlikely to accept a U.S. demand to ship its whole stockpile of its lower and higher level enriched uranium outside the country. "There is a deal to be had here, but decades of policy inertia and special interests are pushing the United States toward war with Iran—a war that Americans do not want," said Hoffman. "The announcement that talks are likely to continue next week are encouraging, but remember, the U.S. and Iran had scheduled another round of talks last June before Israel initiated the 12-day war after receiving the green light from Trump," Hoffman added.Kuperwasser, who is head of the Jerusalem Institute of Strategy and Security (JISS), said that even if the U.S. takes limited action focused on Iran’s nuclear facilities, Tehran will view that as a threat to the survival of the regime. "Everybody realizes that an American attack might bring with it demonstrations and activities by the opposition in Iran," he said. "Then the focus is going to move from military targets and ballistic missiles and nuclear facilities, to the question of ‘do you bring the help that you promised that it's on its way?’ I guess the pressure on the Americans is going to be quite considerable to come good on their promises." Images reviewed by Newsweek showed a reduction in U.S. military aircraft at the largest U.S. base in the Middle East this week compared with earlier this month. Imagery taken on Friday by the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 satellites appeared to show around 15 C-17 and C-130 military transport planes on the northern ramps of Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, along with helicopters and V-22 tilt-rotor cargo aircraft. Al Udeid is close to Doha and was targeted by Iranian ballistic missiles last summer after Trump ordered the bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites. The strike caused little damage and Washington is said to have received advanced notice from Tehran Chinese spatial intelligence firm MizarVision said the U.S. had been withdrawing its aircraft from Qatar while reinforcing the area with a Patriot missile battery. The amount of U.S. aircraft at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia was more or less the same, while F-16 fighter jets and P-8A maritime patrol aircraft also were seen at the Diego Garcia naval base in the central Indian Ocean, the company said in its analysis.