US orders urgent security review at all its global embassies after Iranian strikes

The US State Department has ordered all its diplomatic outposts worldwide to “immediately” undertake security evaluations, citing “the ongoing and developing situation in the Middle East and the potential for spillover effects.”

The instruction was conveyed in an internal cable sent Tuesday which was reviewed by The Washington Post.

The cable stated that “ALL posts worldwide” should convene Emergency Action Committees (EAC), which are multidisciplinary teams designed to identify and plan for threats, and to review their “security posture.” The cable was signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and stated that the order had come from Undersecretary for Management Jason Evans.

Though similar orders have been sent to diplomatic posts in the Middle East over past weeks, Tuesday’s order appeared to mark the first time that all posts globally had been ordered to review their security due to the Iran war.

The State Department declined to comment beyond saying that the disclosure of internal communications was “inappropriate” and that EAC meetings were “a standard element of our risk management and preparedness protocols.”

Multiple US embassies have been targeted by Iran and its proxies since the US-Israeli bombing campaign started 28 February, with several missions temporarily closing and US personnel ordered to leave several countries.

The US Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was left partially “unrecoverable” after a drone attack this month, with parts of the roof “collapsed” and other areas contaminated by smoke, according to assessments reviewed by The Post.

Though most of the threats have focused on the US presence in the Middle East, there have also been several incidents of violence elsewhere, including gunshots outside the US Consulate in Toronto and an explosion near the US Embassy in Oslo.