Unconfirmed reports to the Canary suggest that the US is withdrawing non-essential staff from its embassies in both Lebanon and Israel.
US withdraws embassy staff in Israel and Lebanon
The move, if confirmed, may signal a new Israeli attack on Lebanon. More likely, though, it could indicate an imminent new attack on Iran, which pummelled Israeli cities in June 2025 in the so-called ’12-day war’ and has allies in Lebanon, while Israel’s attacks on its nuclear facilities left them essentially ‘unscratched’.
Tehran recently warned the US and Israel that it would respond “harshly” to any new attack. Stunned by the effectiveness of Iran’s missile systems, Israel and the US asked for a ceasefire to end hostilities in June. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu asked Russia earlier this week to reassure Iran that he did not intend a new attack, which almost guarantees that one is imminent.
Iran has penetrated Israel’s nuclear facilities on a number of recent occasions and recently left a bouquet of flowers on his car seat as a warning to a senior Israeli nuclear scientist. Giddy from his abduction of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Trump last week threatened Iran with mass attacks if it tried to build up even conventional missile systems. Tehran is unlikely to have been persuaded that Trump would not attack even if it acquiesced.
Meanwhile…
As of 5pm on Thursday 8 January, other sources began confirming the withdrawal of US embassy staff. In tandem, journalist Vanessa Beeley released the following news. It is currently unclear if the series of events are related or not:
“BREAKING — Iranian hacker group Handala says Mossad is about to face an unexpected surprise:
“At 6:30 PM tonight (occupied territories time), Mossad will face a shock it did not anticipate. While its officers were occupied with fueling unrest abroad, they overlooked the fact that they themselves were under watch at home. When attention is fixed on destabilizing others, one often fails to see the shadows close by. The balance is shifting—now it will become clear who truly holds control.”
Featured image via the Canary
By Skwawkbox
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