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Politico: War with Iran could last until September

05 March 2026 10:55 (UTC +04:00)

The State Department is adding resources to evacuate stranded Americans in the Middle East, and the Pentagon is scrambling to increase the number of U.S. troops gathering intelligence for operations — the latest indications that the Trump administration was not fully prepared for the broader war it is now facing.

Amid criticism that the administration has been too slow to alert U.S. citizens that they should leave or help those then caught in the maelstrom, the State Department is sending extra staff to Athens to aid U.S. citizens, according to a current and former department official familiar with consular issues.

A State Department official familiar with the process said Wednesday morning that the top leaders in the department had taken charge of the evacuation operation, much of which would typically be handled by consular and bureau officials.

U.S. Central Command, meanwhile, is asking the Pentagon to send more military intelligence officers to its headquarters in Tampa, Florida, to support operations against Iran for at least 100 days but likely through September, according to a notification obtained by POLITICO.