BAGHDAD – Washington ordered the departure of non-emergency American employees from its diplomatic missions in Iraq yesterday in another apparent show of concern about what it describes as threats from Iran.
Helicopters took off throughout the day from the vast embassy compound near the Tigris River, carrying staff out, according to an Iraqi source and a diplomatic source inside Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone. The Iraqi source said US staff were headed for a military base at Baghdad airport.
President Donald Trump’s administration is applying new sanctions pressure on Tehran and says it is sending additional forces to the Middle East to counter what it calls a heightened threat from Iran to US soldiers and interests in the region.
Iran calls that “psychological warfare”, and a British commander cast doubt on US military concerns about threats to its roughly 5 000 soldiers in Iraq, who have been helping Iraqi security forces fight Islamic State jihadists.
(Reuters)
DONALD TRUMP
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