In the early hours of Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed that his administration is relocating American personnel from the Middle East, as it could be a “dangerous place” amid rising tensions with Iran.

While attending a performance of the musical Les Misérables at the Kennedy Center in Washington, Trump told reporters, commenting on reports of the relocation of U.S. diplomatic staff, “Well, they’re being moved because it could be a dangerous place.”

He added, “We’ve issued a departure notice, and we’ll see what happens.” He continued, “They (the Iranians) cannot have a nuclear weapon. It’s very simple—we won’t allow it.”

The U.S. Department of Defense (Pentagon) announced on Wednesday that it had authorized the voluntary departure of American military families from several sites within the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of operations, including Iraq and other countries in the Middle East.

A Pentagon official told Shafaq News Agency, “The safety and security of our service members and their families remain a top priority. CENTCOM continues to monitor the escalating tensions in the Middle East.”

The official added that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth approved the voluntary departure of military families from multiple locations under CENTCOM’s jurisdiction. He noted that CENTCOM is “working closely with our counterparts in the U.S. State Department, as well as our allies and partners in the region, to maintain the highest readiness to support any mission anywhere in the world at any time,” without providing further details.

This comes amid escalating regional tensions following comments by Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasir Zadeh, who threatened that his country “will strike U.S. bases in the region if a conflict with Washington erupts over nuclear talks.”

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