US ramping up security at Middle East diplomatic posts: report

The U.S. is reportedly ramping up security at diplomatic posts in the Middle East after pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal and ahead of the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem.

The State Department has been working on doubling down on security at posts around the Muslim world for weeks, CNN reported, amid raised concerns about the consequences of the Trump administration’s policy moves on the Middle East.

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President Trump this week announced he will withdraw the U.S. from the multinational Iran nuclear agreement, an Obama-era deal Trump said “didn’t bring peace.”

And on Monday, the U.S. will officially move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a decision made by Trump earlier this year that broke with decades of international norms in dealing with Israel’s disputed claim to the holy city as its capital. 

Israel and Iran exchanged missiles this week, in what many fear could be the first signs of escalation in a conflict that has existed for decades. Iran has long pledged to wipe Israel off the map. 

Iran has also threatened to restart its nuclear program on an “industrial scale” as a result of the U.S. withdrawal from the pact, while also pledging to work with European nations that had signed the agreement that exchanged Iran’s promises on its nuclear program for reduced sanctions.