Politico | Donald Trump pulling dozens of diplomats out of Iraq
- The move, confirmed by two officials, comes as fears grow that Iran may try to strike US staff in Baghdad
- Tensions are spiking due to the approaching anniversary of the US killing of a top Iranian general, as well as the recent assassination of a nuclear scientist
This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Nahal Toosi on politico.com on December 2, 2020.
The Trump administration is pulling out as many as half of America’s diplomats from the US embassy in Baghdad as tensions spike with Iran ahead of the first anniversary of the US killing of a top Iranian general.
The staff reduction, confirmed by a US official and a State Department official, is in theory supposed to be temporary. But given the steep downward trajectory of US-Iran relations in the final months of President Donald Trump’s tenure, it is not clear when fuller staffing will resume.
The staff reduction also is a sign of the many tests awaiting President-elect Joe Biden in the Middle East, a region his foreign policy team is downplaying as it eyes what it sees as the greater, more urgent challenge posed by the rise of China.
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The US official said as many as half of the American staff at the US embassy and other diplomatic facilities in Iraq would be leaving, characterising that as “dozens” of people. The State Department official declined to offer specifics beyond confirming a staff reduction was under way.
