Update 5:41 p.m.: The State Department confirmed the report in a statement: “While no decision has been made, we have serious concerns about the deteriorating security situation in Damascus, including the recent spate of car bombs, and about the safety and security of embassy personnel," it reads.

The U.S. is preparing to shut down its embassy in Syria and evacuate its personnel by the end of the month, reports The Washington Post, if the security situation doesn't improve. President Bashar al-Assad hasn't been willing to give the embassy more protection as car bombings increase in Damascus, the Post notes, and the confrontations between Assad and protesters continue to look like civil war. Obama has already called for Assad to step down. But what a sign of just how unstable the situation is there.

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