BAGHDAD, June 11 (Reuters) – The U.S. embassy in Iraq is preparing for an ordered evacuation due to heightened security risks in the region, an Iraqi security official and a U.S. source said on Wednesday.
Iran‘s Minister of Defense Aziz Nasirzadeh said earlier in the day that Tehran will strike U.S. bases in the region if nuclear talks fail and conflict arises with Washington.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“The State Department is set to have an ordered departure for (the) U.S. embassy in Baghdad. The intent is to do it through commercial means, but the U.S. military is standing by if help is requested,” another U.S. official said.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he was less confident that Iran will agree to stop uranium enrichment in a nuclear deal with Washington, according to an interview released on Wednesday.
Another U.S. official said that there was no change in operations at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East and that no evacuation order had been issued for employees or families linked to the U.S. Embassy in Qatar, which was operating as usual.
He has repeatedly threatened Iran with bombing if it does not reach a new nuclear deal.
US Military Evaluating Options to Prevent Nuclear-Armed Iran, General Says
(Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed, Timour Azhari, Daphne Psaledakis and Idrees Ali, writing by Jaidaa Taha and Yomna Ehab; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
