The U.S. State Department has begun evacuating nonessential diplomats and their families from the U.S. embassy in Israel as hostilities between Israel and Iran intensify and President Donald Trump has warned of the possibility of getting directly involved in the conflict.

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi have spoken by phone several times since Israel began its strikes on Iran last week, in a bid to find a diplomatic end to the crisis,

The U.S. State Department is planning to evacuate American citizens from Israel using cruise ships and flights.