LIVE: US withdraws embassy staff from Israel and Lebanon

This article will be updated as events develop. Scroll to the end for the latest news.

Unconfirmed reports to the Canary suggest that the US is withdrawing non-essential staff from its embassies in both Lebanon and Israel.

US withdraws embassy staff in Israel and Lebanon

The move, if confirmed, may signal a new Israeli attack on Lebanon. More likely, though, it could indicate an imminent new attack on Iran, which pummelled Israeli cities in June 2025 in the so-called ’12-day war’ and has allies in Lebanon, while Israel’s attacks on its nuclear facilities left them essentially ‘unscratched’.

Tehran recently warned the US and Israel that it would respond “harshly” to any new attack. Stunned by the effectiveness of Iran’s missile systems, Israel and the US asked for a ceasefire to end hostilities in June. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu asked Russia earlier this week to reassure Iran that he did not intend a new attack, which almost guarantees that one is imminent.

Iran has penetrated Israel’s nuclear facilities on a number of recent occasions and recently left a bouquet of flowers on his car seat as a warning to a senior Israeli nuclear scientist. Giddy from his abduction of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Trump last week threatened Iran with mass attacks if it tried to build up even conventional missile systems. Tehran is unlikely to have been persuaded that Trump would not attack even if it acquiesced.

Meanwhile…

As of 5pm on Thursday 8 January, other sources began confirming the withdrawal of US embassy staff. In tandem, journalist Vanessa Beeley released the following news. It is currently unclear if the series of events are related or not:

“BREAKING — Iranian hacker group Handala says Mossad is about to face an unexpected surprise:

“At 6:30 PM tonight (occupied territories time), Mossad will face a shock it did not anticipate. While its officers were occupied with fueling unrest abroad, they overlooked the fact that they themselves were under watch at home. When attention is fixed on destabilizing others, one often fails to see the shadows close by. The balance is shifting—now it will become clear who truly holds control.”

Iranian internet down

Update 18h13 GMT, 8 January 2026: the Internet has gone down – or been taken out – in Iran:

Tabriz airport closed

Update 19h10: Tabriz airport has been closed, often a sign the Iranian government expects imminent attack.

Trump threat

Update 19h23:

Israeli Farsi-language propaganda and sockpuppet accounts have begun circulating footage of scattered ‘monarchist’ marches on Iranian streets, claiming a popular uprising. Trump has threatened to hit Iran “hard” and make Iran “pay hell” if police kill rioters. Tehran orders security forces not to engage. Reminder: former CIA director Pompeo’s new year message confirmed that anti-government protests are being coordinated by Israeli agents and spies.

⚡️BREAKING

Reza Pahlavi’s call to take to the Streets Has been answered

About 3,000 people gathered in Tehran

And several hundred in other cities

For regime change, millions of people would have to take to the streets. Tehran alone has a population of 15 million

Security… pic.twitter.com/XAGvmWlSBw

— Iran Observer (@IranObserver0) January 8, 2026

Israel threat

Edy Cohen, self-styled Israeli ‘expert on Arab affairs’ and very close to the Netanyahu regime, has posted on X that:

Tonight, the Iranian regime will receive many and severe slaps. The beginning of the collapse.

Similar language is being coordinated among other Israeli propaganda accounts. So much for Netanyahu’s ‘assurances’ via Putin.

Mob violence

A ‘monarchist’ mob has set fire to police vehicles in an attempt to provoke a response from security forces:

JUST IN: 🇮🇷 Protestors burn Iranian security forces vehicles in the streets of Iran. pic.twitter.com/BQ7Xzu7Otm

— BRICS News (@BRICSinfo) January 8, 2026

EU Parliament joins coordinated propaganda blitz

European Parliament president Roberta Metsola has added the EU’s endorsement to the clearly coordinated flood of propaganda and provocation:

The world is once again witnessing the brave people of Iran stand up.

Europe stands by their side. pic.twitter.com/iKYBLwYBEg

— Roberta Metsola (@EP_President) January 8, 2026

Phone lines cut

Update 19h47: telephone lines cut in Iran. Unclear whether as a hostile act or by security forces to hinder hostile attempts to coordinate protests.

Trump: “I don’t need international law”

JUST IN: 🇺🇸 President Trump says “I don’t need international law.”

“My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.” pic.twitter.com/jo5a06wJVl

— BRICS News (@BRICSinfo) January 8, 2026

Mob arson

Footage is now emerging, claimed to be from Tehran, of fires set across the city by rampaging mobs of agitators:

Internet and phone lines have been down for hours in Iran. This raises the possibility that old footage is being recirculated in an attempt to create a propaganda narrative; or that agitators equipped with satellite phones by handlers are filming and sending footage of violence for the same end.

Airspace closed

The Iranian government has closed its airspace. Officially, the reason is:

Urgent instructions for the complete closure of Iranian airspace for military exercises by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

Featured image via the Canary