The State Department is ordering all U.S. embassies and consular posts worldwide to conduct security reviews without delay, according to a cable seen by NBC News.
The order, which came from Undersecretary of Management Jason Evans and was signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, told the embassies Tuesday to undertake the security reviews “immediately,” citing “the ongoing and developing situation in the Middle East and the potential for spill-over effects.”
The cable instructed all posts to report their security practices to Washington as soon as possible and to notify U.S. citizens “where appropriate,” citing the department’s “No Double Standard Policy,” which says important security information must be made available to private citizens.
The order was first reported by The Washington Post.
A spokesperson said that the State Department does not comment on internal communications and that it has “continually conducted” what are known as Emergency Action Committees, which are tasked with “preparing for and responding to” potential security risks that could affect U.S. citizens.
“Every embassy in the region conducted Emergency Action Committees (EACs) that included interagency representatives before Operation Epic Fury began,” the State Department spokesperson said, using the name of the military strikes against Iran that began Feb. 28.
The spokesperson added that the State Department “regularly directs” its diplomatic posts to convene EACs and that their timing and frequency “are determined by a range of operational considerations and do not necessarily indicate a new or specific threat.”
An Iran-aligned militia group fired drones and rockets at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday, according to a U.S. official. Six of the seven projectiles were intercepted, and there were no injuries or serious damage.
U.S. embassies in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have also been targeted by retaliatory strikes, while an explosion at the U.S. Embassy in Norway is under investigation, with Norwegian police saying it may have been a deliberate attack linked to the “current security situation.”
On the eve of the first U.S. strikes on Iran, the U.S. told embassy staff members in Israel to leave quickly if they would like, “out of an abundance of caution.”
The war in Iran is raging into its third week, with no clear end in sight as President Donald Trump and his administration have sent conflicting signals about its duration.
NBC News previously reported that U.S. military officials have regularly provided Trump with off-ramps for the war — options he has not opted for so far. Trump said Friday that he will know the conflict is over “when I feel it in my bones.”
