The State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs has been weakened by staffing cuts and leadership gaps as conflict with Iran intensifies, according to current and former officials. The bureau, which coordinates United States policy across 18 countries in the region, has lost more than 80 staff members and has no Senate confirmed assistant secretary in place. Key ambassadorships remain vacant, and several senior roles are filled on a temporary basis.

The Trump administration proposed cutting the bureau’s budget by 40 percent and eliminated a dedicated Iran office, merging it with the Iraq office. More than 3,800 employees have departed the department since the president took office, with senior ranks disproportionately affected. Critics say the loss of experienced diplomats and language specialists has limited the government’s ability to anticipate and respond to Iranian retaliation and regional escalation.

The department disputes those claims, saying staffing reductions have not hindered crisis planning or evacuations. It reports assisting nearly 50,000 Americans and operating dozens of evacuation flights since hostilities began. However, former officials argue that evacuation messaging was delayed and planning insufficient, leaving Americans in the region scrambling as airspace closed.

Two temporary task forces have been created to manage the crisis, and some recently laid off foreign service officers have volunteered to return. Lawmakers and former diplomats contend that rebuilding expertise will be critical as the conflict spreads and diplomatic coordination becomes more complex.