State Department's Middle East Expertise Gutted Amid Escalating Iran Conflict
The widening war in Iran is exposing significant deficiencies within the United States State Department, particularly in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, which traditionally coordinates American foreign policy across the volatile Middle East region.
Bureau Operating with Diminished Resources
Ordinarily at the center of geopolitical crises, the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs now operates with far fewer resources. The administration's most recent budget proposed a drastic 40% cut to the bureau, though Congress eventually enacted less severe reductions. Additionally, the dedicated Iran office was eliminated entirely, merged with the Iraq office in a consolidation move that has raised concerns about focused expertise.
These personnel and management decisions, combined with President Donald Trump's broader efforts to shrink government and concentrate decision-making within a tight circle, are significantly limiting America's capacity to handle global emergencies, according to interviews with more than a dozen current and former U.S. officials.
Staffing Reductions and Management Changes
In divisions that would typically manage the Iran response, numerous veteran diplomats with decades of collective experience have been fired, retired, or reassigned. They have often been replaced by more junior officials or political appointees with limited regional expertise.
The administration cut more than 80 staffers from Near Eastern Affairs, according to numbers compiled by a terminated State Department employee based on colleague surveys. While the department does not release official Foreign Service officer staffing figures, it has not disputed this number.
The Trump administration has left the assistant secretary position overseeing Near Eastern Affairs vacant, along with several key ambassadorships across the Middle East. Currently, four of the five supervisors in the bureau hold only temporary titles.
Leadership Appointments Questioned
The Trump administration temporarily placed Mora Namdar, a lawyer of Iranian descent with limited management experience, in charge of the bureau before later moving her to head consular affairs. One of her notable credentials was her contribution to Project 2025, a conservative think tank's blueprint for a potential second Trump administration.
Namdar's last Senate-confirmed predecessor was a longtime Middle East expert who had served with the department since 1984 and previously acted as U.S. ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, highlighting the shift in qualifications for critical positions.
Broader Departmental Exodus
Since President Trump took office, the State Department has seen more than 3,800 employees depart through a combination of reductions in force, deferred resignation plans, and ordinary retirements. According to estimates from the American Foreign Service Association, senior foreign service ranks were disproportionately represented in these layoffs relative to their share of the overall workforce.
"He's making choices without the larger expertise of the United States government that would flag issues of consequence," said Max Stier, CEO of the nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service. "Sometimes government is slow-moving because there are many different factors that need to be balanced against each other."
Predictable Consequences Unanticipated
The administration appeared caught off guard when Iran retaliated against American allies in the region following U.S. strikes, with President Trump himself expressing surprise at Tehran's response. "Nobody expected that. We were shocked. They fought back," Trump told reporters.
However, former officials note that Iranian retaliation was entirely predictable based on previous wargames and conflict models conducted by both the U.S. military and private organizations. The National Security Council, which Trump has pared down, would typically have presented the president with expert analysis from within the bureaucracy.
Evacuation Planning and Communication Issues
Evacuation planning for Americans in conflict zones appears to have been chaotic, with little advance preparation for how to evacuate U.S. citizens living, working, or studying in countries engulfed by the expanding conflict.
While Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee offered embassy staff in Jerusalem evacuation opportunities before strikes began, other embassies in the region did not make similar arrangements, leaving nonessential personnel and their families stranded in war zones.
Namdar only advised Americans to evacuate several days into the conflict when airspace was largely closed and commercial flights were unavailable. "The messaging that went out to American citizens—after the U.S. struck Iran—was woefully late and, initially, confusing," said Yael Lempert, former U.S. ambassador to Jordan.
Department Response and Counterarguments
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott vigorously disputed negative assessments of departmental capacity: "As far as we can tell, AP's entire 'report' on the evacuations does not include any conversations with people actually involved. Instead, it relies on 'outside' or 'former official' sources that have no idea what they are talking about."
Pigott added that staffing reductions "are not having any negative impact on our ability to respond to this operation, our ability to plan, and our ability to execute in service to Americans" and that the department "rejects the premise that key decisions were made without meaningful input from experienced professionals."
The department notes it has offered assistance to nearly 50,000 Americans impacted by the conflict, with more than 60 evacuation flights from the region. In total, more than 70,000 Americans have returned home since hostilities began on February 28.
Loss of Critical Language Skills
The department's language capabilities have also suffered significant erosion. Thirteen Arabic speakers and four Farsi speakers, all trained at taxpayer expense, were among employees let go, according to a draft letter circulated by former foreign service officers.
Language training for foreign service officers can cost approximately $200,000 per individual. The letter estimates that employees terminated in the name of efficiency received more than $35 million in taxpayer-funded language training and over $100 million in total training and career development.
Volunteers Ready to Serve
A group of more than 250 Foreign Service officers affected by last year's reduction-in-force remain on the State Department's payroll and have volunteered to return to work on task forces or any other necessary positions during the crisis.
"I haven't been given any separation paperwork. I still have an active clearance. I could go back to the department tomorrow, either to backfill or staff a task force," said one foreign service officer who requested anonymity. "I will do the scutwork jobs."
The department has established two temporary task forces to address the Middle East crisis—one to bolster Near East Affairs capacities and another to assist Consular Affairs with American evacuations. While the department states these task forces are "fully staffed," it has not responded to volunteers' offers to return to service.
