IRELAND IS REVIEWING the continued presence of its staff in Tehran amid ratcheting tensions in the region.

The news follows weeks of increasingly violent protests in Iran, with hundreds of protestors deaths at the hands of regime forces having been reported. 

In a statement this evening, a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs told The Journal that the government is “keeping the presence of Irish staff in Iran under review”.

The Irish delegation has previously been evacuated from Iran over safety concerns, most recently during the 11-day Iran–Israel war in June.

Elsewhere in the region, the UK has temporarily closed its embassy in Tehran.

The US and UK are also reducing the number of personnel at the Al-Udeid air base in Qatar, as Trump considers whether to take action against Iran over its crackdown on anti-government protests.

US officials told News outlet CBS that the partial American drawdown is a “precautionary measure”, while the BBC reported that some UK military staff are also being withdrawn.

Qatar said the move was in response to current regional tensions and that it continues to take steps to protect critical infrastructure and military facilities.

Trump has warned of “very strong action” if Iran executes protesters, while Tehran has threatened retaliation if attacked.

Rights groups say more than 2,400 demonstrators have been killed in the crackdown.

Al-Udeid is the largest US military base in the Middle East, hosting around 10,000 US personnel and about 100 UK staff, though it remains unclear how many are leaving.

The UK Ministry of Defence has not commented on the move as of yet.

Iran has accused the US of seeking a pretext for military intervention and warned that US and Israeli targets would be legitimate in the event of an attack.

Additional reporting from Andrew Walsh