KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — Hundreds of U.S. military dependents and Defense Department civilians who fled Bahrain at the start of the war with Iran will soon be required to relocate from Germany to the U.S., according to a new Pentagon memo.

Naval Support Activity Bahrain, home to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and the U.S. 5th Fleet, evacuated thousands of nonessential personnel at the start of Operation Epic Fury. The mission began Feb. 28 with joint U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. In retaliation, Iran launched attacks on U.S. military installations in a number of Middle Eastern countries.

The ensuing days saw an exodus from NSA Bahrain, which typically hosts more than 8,300 U.S. service members, civilian employees and their families. Most evacuees traveled to stateside safe haven locations, but the Pentagon made an exception for those who wanted to wait out the conflict in the Kaiserslautern area. It hosts the largest overseas military community and allowed students to finish the academic year in the Defense Department’s school system.

Now, those evacuees must make plans to relocate to a different safe haven location by June 30, according to a Thursday memo seen by Stars and Stripes. According to a separate March 3 order, designated safe havens can be anywhere in the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, or non-foreign U.S. territories like Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to questions about why families and civilians were being directed to change their safe haven locations. Many in Germany have been living in temporary housing on tourist visas, which have a 90-day limit. For those enrolled in DOD schools, classes end June 9.

The Pentagon memo encouraged those with tourist visas to immediately apply for an extended visa. Once families arrive at their new safe haven, the 180-day time limit for allowances will restart, according to the memo, which was signed by Anthony Tata, the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Venezuela ’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez told journalists Monday that her country had no plans to become the 51st U.S. state after President Donald Trump said he was “seriously considering” the move.

Rodríguez was speaking at the International Court of Justice in The Hague on the final day of hearings in a dispute between her country and neighboring Guyana over the massive mineral- and oil-rich Essequibo region.

“We will continue to defend our integrity, our sovereignty, our independence, our history,” said Rodríguez, who assumed power in January following a U.S. military operation that ousted then-President Nicolás Maduro. Venezuela is “not a colony, but a free country,” she added.

Speaking to Fox News earlier on Monday, Trump said he was “seriously considering making Venezuela the 51st US state,” according to a post by Fox News' co-anchor John Roberts on social media. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.

Before addressing Trump's comments, Rodríguez defended her country’s claim to Essequibo at the United Nations' highest court, telling judges that political negotiations — not a judicial ruling — will resolve the century-old territorial dispute.

The 62,000-square-mile territory, which makes up two-thirds of Guyana, is rich in gold, diamonds, timber and other natural resources. It also sits near massive offshore oil deposits currently producing an average 900,000 barrels a day.

That output is close to Venezuela’s daily production of about 1 million barrels a day and has transformed one of the smallest countries in South America into a significant energy producer.

Venezuela has considered Essequibo its own since the Spanish colonial period, when the jungle region fell within its boundaries. But an 1899 decision by arbitrators from Britain, Russia and the United States drew the border along the Essequibo River largely in favor of Guyana.