Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 06:44pm on 27 Feb 2026,Friday International
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee urged embassy staff to leave Israel immediately, shifting the mission to "authorised departure" status allowing non-essential personnel and families to exit at government expense. Huckabee cited rising tensions over a prospective US strike on Iran, warning staff to secure outbound flights from Ben-Gurion Airport without delay. Any US attack on Iran could trigger retaliatory strikes against Israel. Meanwhile, US-Iran nuclear talks in Geneva yielded "significant progress" according to mediator Oman, though a deal remains uncertain. Iran rejected US demands to halt uranium enrichment and transfer its 400kg enriched uranium stockpile abroad, calling Washington's demands on its missile programme "excessive" and urging "seriousness and realism." (PC: X)
