Israel-Iran War Looms: Why Are Countries Asking Citizens To Leave Lebanon Immediately? As tensions rise in Middle East, following the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, several Western governments, including the US, UK and France have asked their citizens to leave Lebanon immediately. Haniyeh’s killing in Iran on Wednesday, hours after the Israeli assassination of Iran-backed Hezbollah’s military chief Fuad Shukr in Beirut, has triggered pledges of vengeance from Iran and the so-called “axis of resistance”.