US President Donald Trump is said to be pulling out as many as half of America’s diplomats from the US embassy in Baghdad as tensions with Tehran continue to increase ahead of the first anniversary of Soleimani’s assassination, Politico reported Wednesday, citing a US official and a State Department official.
Although the US official said that “dozens” of American staffers at the US embassy and other diplomatic facilities in Iraq would be leaving, the State Department official did not offer specifics, other than confirm that staffers would be leaving the country.
The staff reduction is supposed to be temporary but, due to strained relations between the two countries, it’s unknown when US diplomats will return to the US embassy in Baghdad.
Iraq is often a battleground for fighting between the United States and Iran. Following Soleimani’s death, Tehran retaliated against the White House by launching missiles at US troops housed in Iraq, reportedly causing dozens of soldiers to suffer brain injuries.
Tensions between the US and Iran have been especially high following last month’s killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a senior Iranian scientist who helped lead the country’s nuclear program.
The top nuclear scientist was reportedly killed by a remote-controlled machine gun east of Tehran. Iran’s Supreme National Security Agency has said that the Israeli spy agency Mossad and the People's Mujahedin Organization, an Iranian political-militant organization banned in the country, were involved in the assassination.
In a statement to Politico on Wednesday, the US State Department did not deny that a staff reduction could be taking place in Iraq.
“The State Department continually adjusts its diplomatic presence at embassies and consulates throughout the world in line with its mission, the local security environment, the health situation, and even the holidays,” a department official said in a statement to the outlet. “Ensuring the safety of US government personnel, US citizens, and the security of our facilities, remains our highest priority.”
The latest report comes after Trump considered closing down the US embassy in Baghdad after intelligence agencies in September became concerned about attacks against American forces in Iraq and against the embassy itself, Politico reported at the time.
