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13-06-2025
WASHINGTON/ BAGHDAD: Non-essential US embassy staff and their dependents in Baghdad are to be evacuated from Iraq due to heightened security risks, US government sources have said.
Officials did not say exactly what prompted the removal, however, in recent days talks over Iran’s nuclear program appear to have stalled.
A US state department official told media on Wednesday; “we are constantly assessing the appropriate personnel posture at all our embassies.
“Based on our latest analysis, we decided to reduce the footprint of our mission in Iraq.”
This move comes after weeks of talks between the US and Iran, President Trump has hoped to strike a deal to stop Tehran developing a nuclear weapon.
Trump said on Wednesday he was growing less confident that Iran would stop enriching uranium.
Earlier this week he also held a 40-minute phone call, said to be “tense” with Israel’s prime minister, who has long argued for a military rather than diplomatic approach.
Asked on Wednesday evening about the decision to evacuate staff from multiple parts of the Middle East, Trump said; “well, they are being moved out because it could be a dangerous place, and we’ll see what happens.”
He added; but “they are bean and we’ve given notice to move out, and we’ll see what happens.”
With the nuclear talks at a critical moment, it isn’t yet clear how much the US announcement is about signaling as opposed to genuine concern but Iranian Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said his country would retaliate against US bases in the region if talks failed and Trump ordered military strikes against the Islamic Republic.
Media reports that US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth also approved the voluntary departure of families of American military personnel from countries across the Middle East, including Kuwait and Bahrain.
Testifying in front of a congressional panel on Wednesday, the Pentagon said he believed there are “plenty of indications” that Iran is “moving their way towards something that would look a lot like a nuclear weapon”.
Iran says its uranium enrichment program is for civilian energy generation and that it is not trying to build an atomic bomb.
Also on Wednesday, the UK’s Maritime Trade Operations organization, part of the Royal Navy, issued a warning saying that increased military tensions in the Middle East could affect shipping.
The price of oil initially increased more than 4% when news of the US evacuation broke, in anticipation of regional insecurity potentially leading to supply problems.
Around 2,500 US troops are based in Iraq, according to the defence department.
“UKMTO has been made aware of increased tensions within the region which could lead to an escalation of military activity having a direct impact on mariners,” the advisory said. “Vessels are advised to transit the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman and Straits of Hormuz with caution.”
The Joint Maritime Information Center, an information sharing hub that comes under the Combined Maritime Forces, warned of heightened risks from the discord, including the possible use of missiles around chokepoints.
Hormuz is the world’s most important oil chokepoint and Iran has frequently threatened to close it during times of geopolitical strife. However, it has never done so, earlier; Iran Seeks ‘Framework’ Deal in US Nuclear Talks, Official Says. (Int’l News Desk)
