On Sunday, the U.S. State Department issued a series of new warnings concerning three Middle Eastern countries, including Iraq, in anticipation of possible Iranian retaliation following U.S. strikes on nuclear facilities.
According to Reuters, the department issued a Level 4 travel advisory, prohibiting American citizens from traveling to Iraq under any circumstances.
Additionally, the State Department instructed non-essential staff family members to leave Lebanon immediately due to the regional security situation.
The department also expressed concern about growing “negative sentiment toward U.S. policy,” warning that it could lead to hostile acts against American or Western interests in Turkey.
Earlier in the day, the U.S. Embassy in Iraq confirmed to Shafaq News Agency that it had carried out additional evacuations of some of its staff as a precautionary measure amid escalating regional tensions. At the same time, it emphasized that operations at the embassy in Baghdad and the consulate in Erbil remain ongoing as usual.
These developments followed U.S. military strikes targeting underground Iranian nuclear facilities, prompting warnings from Tehran of retaliation against American interests in the region.
In remarks last Friday, member of Iraq’s Parliamentary Security and Defense Committee, Mohammed Al-Shammari, warned of the “serious implications” of a potential closure of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, calling it an “early warning” of an unprecedented security event that Iraq and the region might soon face.
It’s worth noting that The New York Times reported last week that Iran had prepared missiles to target U.S. bases in the Middle East in case Washington decided to join the war.