Rex Tillerson
Rex TillersonReuters

The State Department will immediately act on President Donald Trump's order to relocate the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday.

"The State Department will immediately begin the process to implement this decision by starting the preparations to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem," Tillerson said during a visit to Germany, shortly after Trump's landmark announcement.

President Trump announced that the US officially recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel in a historic speech Wednesday. He said that the move was "long overdue" and "the right thing to do."

"That is why, consistent with the Jerusalem Embassy Act, I am also directing the State Department to begin preparations to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. This will immediately begin the process of hiring architects, engineers, and planners do that a new embassy, when completed, will be a magnificent tribute to peace," he added.