The order to evacuate US diplomats from Iraq came in response to an “imminent” threat directly linked to Iran, senior State Department officials say Wednesday.
The officials, who speak on condition of anonymity, say that the threat came from Iraqi militias commanded and controlled by Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“It is directly linked to Iran, multiple threat streams directly linked to Iran,” says one official.
“This is an imminent threat to our personnel,” says a second official.
Earlier Wednesday, the US State Department ordered all non-emergency staff to leave its embassy in Baghdad and consulate in Arbil, citing a non-specific threat from “terrorist and insurgent groups” in Iraq that included “anti-US sectarian militias.”
The move came 10 days after the White House ordered a US aircraft carrier task force and B-52 bombers to the Gulf to prepare to respond to any Iranian-directed strike against US interests or allies in the region.
— AFP
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