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• Thu Jun 12 2025

US to partially evacuate embassy in Iraq as Iran tensions rise

2 hours ago Share Save Tom Bateman BBC State Department Correspondent Mike Wendling BBC News Share Save

Watch: Trump says US personnel "being moved out" of the Middle East

Non-essential US embassy staff and their dependants in Baghdad are to be evacuated from Iraq due to heightened security risks, US government sources have said. Officials did not say exactly what prompted the removal, however, on Wednesday, US officials were told Israel was ready to launch an operation into Iran, the BBC's US partner CBS reported, citing officials familiar with the matter. The officials said this was part of the reason the US advised some Americans to leave the region, and that the US anticipated Iran could retaliate on certain US sites in Iraq. It comes as US talks over Iran's nuclear programme appear to have stalled in recent days.

US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is still planning to meet Iran officials for the sixth rounds of talks on Sunday, the officials told CBS. A US state department official told the BBC: "We are constantly assessing the appropriate personnel posture at all our embassies. "Based on our latest analysis, we decided to reduce the footprint of our mission in Iraq." Trump spoke about Iran at an appearance at the Kennedy Center on Wednesday, telling reporters Americans were advised to leave the region "because it could be a dangerous place, and we'll see what happens". Trump also reiterated that the US did not want Iran to develop a nuclear weapon: "We're not going to allow that." The president has hoped to strike a deal to stop Tehran developing a nuclear weapon. Trump said on Wednesday he was growing less confident that Iran would stop enriching uranium. Earlier this week he also held a 40-minute phone call - said to be "tense" - with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has long argued for a military rather than diplomatic approach.

Getty Images US Black Hawk helicopters flying over Baghdad in December 2024