WASHINGON (Dispatches) -- The U.S. is preparing to return diplomats to its embassies across West Asia that were evacuated before and during the U.S.–Israeli war on Iran, with restaffing possibly beginning this week, according to the New York Times (NYT). 
The U.S. State Department said in a statement that it “continuously reviews the security posture at our diplomatic missions around the world. Based on our latest assessment, we are adjusting our staffing posture at certain posts in the Middle East to ensure we can continue advancing U.S. foreign policy objectives while protecting the safety and security of our personnel.”
According to internal State Department documents obtained by NYT, the posts due to take on more personnel include those in Israeli occupied territories, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Oman, Iraq, and Kuwait. 
Lebanon is reportedly set to receive the first returning diplomats, though its embassy will stay below capacity, while Israel, Jordan, and Oman are the only three posts set to reach full staffing. 
Other missions will reopen only partially, with restaffing at the embassies in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Lebanon to start at 85 percent, and at 75 percent in Iraq, Kuwait, and Bahrain. Diplomats sent to Lebanon or any of the six Persian Gulf states will also face limits on bringing their families along. 
Negotiations between Washington and Tehran have effectively stalled as the 60‑day ceasefire signed in June expired last week without an extension.
Washington has signaled that it will not return to full‑scale hostilities, instead doubling down on a campaign of economic terrorism against Iran, describing it ss an “Economic D‑Day” against Iran’s financial lifelines.
The U.S. has threatened a fresh, sweeping round of secondary sanctions aimed at countries that keep doing business with Iran. 
Iranian officials say the Islamabad memorandum of understanding (MoU) that underpinned the ceasefire is now obsolete after continuous U.S. violations, and Tehran has not signaled a return to negotiations.
The planned return of diplomats marks a significant shift after months of chaos triggered by Iran’s retaliation for the February 28 U.S.-Israeli attack. As Iranian missiles and drones struck U.S. facilities across the Persian Gulf, the State Department scrambled to evacuate staff, but the response was widely criticized as dangerously slow. 
Memos approving evacuations for embassies in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar were not cleared until hours after the war began—and in some cases, the following day.  
Thousands of American citizens were left stranded as Persian Gulf airports closed and commercial flights were canceled. The State Department ultimately arranged charter flights for over 13,000 people, but many families had to flee with just a few suitcases, leaving their lives locked behind embassy doors. 
Even now, hundreds of evacuated diplomats have been working remotely from Northern Virginia for months, uncertain when—or if—they can return to their posts. The housing allowances that sustained them expired in August, adding to the pressure.
Critics say the Trump administration’s reliance on informal networks—including presidential envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff—has left the region without confirmed ambassadors and hollowed out diplomatic capacity. 
One retired diplomat warned that Washington is becoming “increasingly blind to all of the dynamics in the region”. While the return of staff signals de-escalation, the Persian Gulf embassies will operate at reduced capacity, with family restrictions still in place.