Japan began evacuating some embassy staff from Tehran on January 17, becoming the third U.S. ally after the UK and New Zealand to scale back its diplomatic presence amid rising instability in Iran. Tokyo also urged its citizens to leave Iran and issued travel advisories for Gulf states hosting U.S. military bases. The pullback comes as Iran reels from deadly protests and as Washington warns of possible regime collapse, citing capital flight by Iran’s elite. The widening diplomatic retreat is fueling questions over regional security and whether allies are losing confidence amid Trump’s shifting posture on a potential Iran conflict.