US ambassador to Israel, message to his staff: “Find a plane to any destination. TODAY” / Questions about a potential US attack on Iran
United States Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee. Credit: DEBBIE HILL / UPI / Profimedia
Amid the threat of a US attack on Iran, the US embassy in Jerusalem told its employees they could leave Israel and warned them that if they wanted to, it was essential to do so immediately, according to an email sent Friday by Ambassador Mike Huckabee and obtained by The New York Times.
The move came after meetings and phone calls that lasted through the night, Huckabee told embassy staff in the email, which the American publication said it verified with three people familiar with the matter.
This was decided out of “an abundance of caution” and following discussions with the State Department, in which officials agreed that the safety of embassy staff was a priority.
“Find a plane ticket to any destination”
Those who want to leave “should do so TODAY,” Huckabee wrote in the email sent at 10:24 a.m. local time.
According to the NYT, he urged embassy staff to find a flight from Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport to any destination they could book.
The embassy move “will likely result in high demand for airline tickets today,” the US ambassador said in the quoted email.
“Focus on getting a seat on the plane to any destination where you can then continue on to Washington, but the top priority will be getting out of the country quickly.”
He added that while there might be flights departing from there in the coming days, there might as well not be any more.
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A limited attack or a protracted campaign?
US media, citing anonymous administration sources, suggested Trump was considering launching an initial strike in the coming days against Iran's Revolutionary Guards or nuclear facilities to pressure the country's leaders.
If the talks fail, the president could order an extensive campaign aimed at ousting Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
US media also reported that the chief of staff had warned that strikes against Iran could be risky, potentially drawing the US into a protracted conflict, although Trump insisted that General Dan Caine believed the war would be “easy to win”.
Meanwhile, Iran has threatened to respond to any attack by hitting US military targets in the Middle East and Israel.
US allies in the region are concerned that an attack on Iran could lead to a wider conflict and have stressed that air power will not be enough to change the country's leadership.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned against a deal that does not include Iran's ballistic missiles and proxy forces in the region.
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