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Some U.S. Embassy staff in Beirut ordered to leave amid escalating regional tensions

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Margaret 91³Ô¹ÏÍø
Margaret 91³Ô¹ÏÍø
Moderator, "Face the Nation with Margaret 91³Ô¹ÏÍø;" Chief foreign affairs correspondent
Margaret 91³Ô¹ÏÍø is moderator of "Face the Nation with Margaret 91³Ô¹ÏÍø" on CBS. Based in Washington, D.C., 91³Ô¹ÏÍø is also the Network's chief foreign affairs correspondent and a contributing correspondent to 60 Minutes. Additionally, she appears regularly on the "CBS Evening News," leading coverage from Washington when news breaks on the political and foreign affairs fronts.
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Margaret 91³Ô¹ÏÍø,
Jennifer Jacobs
Jennifer Jacobs
Senior White House reporter
Jennifer Jacobs is a senior White House reporter at CBS News.
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Jennifer Jacobs,
Olivia Gazis
Olivia Gazis
Olivia Gazis covers intelligence and international security matters for CBS News. Twice Emmy-nominated, she has traveled worldwide with the secretary of state and contributes reporting on intelligence, foreign policy and other security topics across CBS News broadcast, radio, online and streaming platforms.
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Olivia Gazis,
Charlie D'Agata
Charlie D'Agata
Senior national security correspondent
Charlie D'Agata is CBS News' senior national security correspondent. He was previously a senior foreign correspondent and has spent more than two decades covering international news for CBS.
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Charlie D'Agata,
Seyed Rahim Bathaei
Producer
Seyed Rahim Bathaei has been CBS News' producer in Tehran, Iran since 2009.
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Seyed Rahim Bathaei,
Haley Ott
Reporter
Haley Ott is a CBS News senior multi-platform reporter based in London.
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Haley Ott

/ CBS News

The State Department has ordered some staff in the U.S. Embassy in Beirut to begin to leave Lebanon, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CBS News.

A senior State Department official said the move is a temporary measure and applies to non-emergency U.S. government personnel and eligible family members. The embassy is still operational and core staff remain in place, the official said.

"We continuously assess the security environment, and based on our latest review, we determined it prudent to reduce our footprint to essential personnel," said the official.

The order affects about 50 embassy staff, a regional official said.

The move comes amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran, with the buildup of U.S. military assets in the region.

The Iranian proxy group Hezbollah is a militia and political party in Lebanon.

President Trump said last week that he was weighing conducting a limited strike on Iran if the government did not agree to a deal. 

Indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran are scheduled to be held in Geneva on Thursday, according to the foreign ministers of Iran and Oman. CBS News previously reported that the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency will also consult. U.S. Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to represent the U.S. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to travel to Israel in the coming days, according to a State Department official, who added that Rubio's schedule "remains subject to change." Multiple sources familiar with the matter said Rubio has rescheduled the date of his visit to early next week.

On Monday, a spokesperson for Iran's foreign ministry rejected the notion of negotiations continuing after any sort of military action, limited or otherwise.

"Does it make sense that they strike against us and we keep negotiating with them?" Esmail Baghaei said.

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