US-Iran Negotiation Sees Cooling Signs: US Diplomats Plan to Return to Multiple Middle Eastern Countries

BlockBeats News, August 25th. According to The New York Times, the U.S. State Department is preparing to gradually return some diplomatic personnel to the Middle East embassies that were evacuated earlier due to the U.S.-Iran conflict. Personnel are expected to start returning to their posts as early as this week.

U.S. embassies in Israel, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Oman, Iraq, and Kuwait will all increase staff levels, with some embassies planning to return to full staffing. Analysts believe that this move indicates the Trump administration may assess that the conflict is coming to an end. However, the continued restriction on the return of diplomatic personnel's family members suggests that the local security risks remain higher than pre-war levels.

Meanwhile, the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that Qatar and Pakistan are still pushing for a U.S.-Iran dialogue to resume. Officials from both countries are in daily communication with relevant parties, describing diplomatic negotiations as the "only way out" of the crisis. The Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan recently visited Tehran for talks with senior Iranian officials, focusing on preventing escalation of conflict, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and ending the war. Qatar has also called for Iran to restore free navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and has stated that it will not enter into a separate energy transportation security agreement with Iran.