U.S. Pulls Iraq Embassy Staff as Tensions Climb Higher Over Iran
- State Department cites an ‘increased threat stream’ in region
- Pressure builds after year of tighter U.S. sanctions on Tehran
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The U.S. ordered its non-emergency government staff to leave Iraq amid increasing Middle East tensions that American officials are blaming on Iran, as fears rise that the region may be heading toward another conflict.
Most employees at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and the consulate in Erbil, in the majority Kurdish region, will leave due to an “increased threat stream,” according to an embassy statement Wednesday that didn’t give more details. The move comes after the Pentagon accelerated a carrier battle group’s transit to the region and deployed a Patriot anti-missile battery to bolster forces.