Houston, June 12 -- Non-essential U.S. embassy staff and their dependents have been ordered to leave Iraq due to unspecified security risks, sources from the U.S. State Department said.
"Based on our latest analysis, we decided to reduce the footprint of our mission in Iraq," the State Department said in a statement on Wednesday.
"We are constantly assessing the appropriate personnel posture at all our embassies," it added.
Aslo on Wednesday, U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth approved the voluntary departure of U.S. military dependents from the Middle East.
The security risks leading to the ordered departure from Iraq are not immediately clear. According to media reports, Iran recently threatened to strike U.S. bases in the region...