State Department orders departure of nonessential staff from Baghdad embassy
The State Department is ordering the departure of all nonessential staff from its embassy in Baghdad due to concern over increased security risks in the region, according to two State Department officials familiar with the matter.
"President Trump is committed to keeping Americans safe, both at home and abroad. In keeping with that commitment, we are constantly assessing the appropriate personnel posture at all our embassies," one of the officials said. "Based on our latest analysis, we decided to reduce our Mission in Iraq."
The embassy already has a very limited number of nonessential employees, so the order is not expected to impact many individuals.
Under the current plan, one official said the U.S. military would not be involved in transporting the nonessential personnel out of the country, but that those plans could change if the situation on the ground calls for it.
Another U.S. official said that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has authorized the voluntary departure of military dependents from locations across the Middle East as tensions ratchet up between Israel and Iran.
-ABC News' Luis Martinez and Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.
