US preparing to partially evacuate Iraq embassy over regional security risks

WASHINGTON/BAGHDAD: The United States is preparing a partial evacuation of its Iraqi embassy and will allow military dependents to leave locations around the Middle East due to heightened security risks in the region, US and Iraqi sources said on Wednesday.

The four US and two Iraqi sources did not specify which security risks had prompted the decision and reports of the potential evacuation pushed up oil prices by more than 4 per cent.

“The State Department regularly reviews American personnel abroad and this decision was made as a result of a recent review,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told Reuters when asked about reports of the partial evacuations, without giving further details. A White House official said US President Donald Trump was aware of the move.

The partial evacuations come at a moment of heightened tensions in a region already aflame after 18 months of war in Gaza that has raised fears of a wider conflagration pitting the US and Israel against Iran and its allies.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to strike Iran if stuttering talks over its nuclear programme fail and on Wednesday he said he was growing less confident that Tehran would agree to stop enriching uranium, a key American demand.

Iranian Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh also said on Wednesday that Iran would retaliate against US bases in the region if the nuclear talks failed and it was subjected to strikes. The United States has a military presence in Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has authorized the voluntary departure of military dependents from locations across the Middle East, a US official said. Another US official said that was mostly relevant to family members located in Bahrain -- where the bulk of them are based.