U.S. Embassy Staff to Leave Iraq as Iran Tensions Mount

By Ghassan Adnan in Baghdad and Courtney McBride and Siobhan Hughes in Washington (WSJ)

Updated May 15, 2019 10:18 p.m. ET

Directive comes amid warnings of heightened threats in the Middle East from Iran-allied militias, as lawmakers press Trump administration for details on reasons for withdrawals

 

The Trump administration ordered a partial withdrawal of its diplomats from Iraq on Wednesday, as Washington warned of heightened threats from Iran and Tehran-backed Shiite militias.

This week, a U.S. official said Iran likely was behind recent attacks on oil tankers in waters off the United Arab Emirates, something Tehran has strenuously denied. Last week, the administration deployed an aircraft carrier, a bomber task force and other equipment and personnel, citing unspecified threats from Iran.

But U.S. authorities haven’t disclosed details behind their assessments, and officials on Wednesday canceled an intelligence briefing scheduled for lawmakers on the House Intelligence Committee, prompting complaints on Capitol Hill.

“This threat stream, let me tell you, is real,” a senior State Department official told reporters, declining to provide details. “The Iranians are threatening American interests and interests of our allies, all throughout this region.”

The U.S. departure order, affecting an estimated hundreds of U.S. personnel in Baghdad and Erbil, was accompanied by more general State Department warnings to U.S. citizens in Lebanon and the U.A.E. People in those countries were advised to remain vigilant because of heightened tensions in the region.

Iranian officials denounced the move as “the latest escalation in the propaganda war” and suggested Washington is trying to initiate a conflict.

‘’Iran is no threat to anybody in Iraq or elsewhere, and Iran is not preparing for any attacks anywhere,” said Alireza Miryousefi, spokesman for Iran’s mission to the United Nations. “Iran, as is evidenced by our history, only acts in self defense, and has no offensive strategy against any nation. Iranians will not capitulate to this new psychological war.”

U.S. officials have differed with allies over the extent of the Iranian threat in the region. A British military official, Maj. Gen. Chris Ghika, on Tuesday said there had been no increased threat from Iranian-backed forces in Iraq and Syria, prompting a rebuttal from U.S. military officials.

The initial U.S. assessment that determined Iran likely was behind a spate of attacks on four ships, including two Saudi Arabian oil tankers, over the weekend has found little support among allies. The U.A.E.’s minister of state for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, on Wednesday said it wasn’t clear who had attacked the vessels in its waters, adding that the U.A.E. was working with the U.S. and France to investigate the sabotage and would release its findings within days.

 “This has been quite a turbulent week, even by the region’s standards,” Mr. Gargash told reporters late Wednesday in Dubai. “We are very committed to de-escalation and peace and stability. We need to emphasize caution and good judgment.”

Germany and the Netherlands on Wednesday cited heightened risks in saying they were temporarily suspending a military training mission to Iraq.

A German government official said the decision, which affects as many as 150 German troops, would be the subject of a discussion in the German lower house on Thursday, and the training operation could resume by the weekend. A Dutch official didn’t elaborate on the nature of the risks or the length of the suspension.

In Baghdad, Ahmed al-Sahaf, a spokesman for Iraq’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the security situation in the country was stable, and that the ministry was coordinating with all sides. He didn’t comment further on the U.S. decision to withdraw staff.

U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday demanded more information on the intelligence underlying the decisions. Even staunch supporters of the Trump administration called for an explanation of the reductions of diplomatic staff, warnings and military preparations.

“Removing personnel from embassies and consulates is clearly a serious move,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) said. “I would urge the State Department and [Department of Defense] to come down here and explain to us what’s going on, because I have no idea what the threat stream is beyond what I read in the paper.”

While he and others are likely to back new forms of pressure against Iran, “we need to understand what we’re doing, so I would urge the administration to come down here and brief members of Congress,” he said.

After Wednesday’s cancellation, a briefing tentatively was planned Thursday for Democratic and Republican leaders of the House, Senate and intelligence committees from both chambers.

Democratic leaders said the administration was obligated to brief lawmakers before taking military action, but some Republicans disputed the argument.

Rep. Michael Conaway (R., Texas), said the Trump administration didn’t need to seek approval from Congress because any action would be defensive in nature.

“We’re not attacking anybody,” said Mr. Conaway, who said he had been partially briefed. “This would be a response to us being attacked. That’s the difference.”

There are more than 5,000 U.S. military personnel in Iraq, but the State Department doesn’t disclose the size of its diplomatic force, which is estimated in the thousands.

During the peak years of the Iraq war, the U.S. usually assigned only essential personnel to its embassy in Baghdad, a heavily fortified complex that came under frequent attack from militant groups.

The U.S. has intermittently ordered withdrawals of nonessential personnel and dependents from other countries. In Venezuela, the U.S. ordered the removal of all nonessential personnel in January, following that order by removing all of its remaining diplomats in March.

In Iraq, normal visa services will be temporarily suspended at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and the U.S. Consulate in Erbil, the Baghdad embassy said. The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in Iraq, it added.

After pulling out from the multilateral nuclear deal with Iran last year, the Trump administration has imposed crippling economic sanctions on Tehran as it intensifies pressure on the Islamic Republic to scale back its military activities in the region.

The U.S. move to deploy additional forces came after indications recently of Iran or its proxies assembling and moving assets on land and at sea.

While the U.S. and Iran in recent years have been careful not to clash militarily, U.S. concerns have grown that a cornered Iranian regime could lash out, either directly with its own forces or through allied armed groups, at Western facilities or perhaps those of the U.S.’s Arab allies in the Persian Gulf region.

During the campaign against Islamic State, U.S. forces in Iraq and Iranian-backed militias avoided targeting each other and instead focused on their common foe. But some fear those militias could now target Americans.

Sune Engel Rasmussen in Beirut, Aresu Eqbali in Tehran and Warren P. Strobel and Nancy A. Youssef in Washington contributed to this article.

Write to Courtney McBride at courtney.mcbride@wsj.com and Siobhan Hughes at siobhan.hughes@wsj.com

Appeared in the May 16, 2019, print edition as 'U.S. Pulls Diplomats From Iraq On Threat.'

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