SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
US orders more diplomatic staff to leave Iraq, Lebanon
Baghdad, June 22 (AFP) Jun 22, 2025
The United States has ordered staff from its diplomatic missions in Iraq and Lebanon to leave the countries, with the departures taking place as American strikes on Sunday targeted nuclear facilities in nearby Iran.

More diplomatic personnel left Iraq on Saturday and Sunday as part of ongoing efforts to "streamline operations", a US official told AFP.

The departures were a continuation of a process that started last week "out of an abundance of caution and due to heightened regional tensions", the official added.

In Lebanon, the US embassy said the State Department on Sunday had ordered staffers' family members and non-emergency US government personnel to leave the country.

A statement on the embassy website cited "the volatile and unpredictable security situation in the region".

Earlier in the day, Washington joined Israel's war against Iran, with US President Donald Trump announcing strikes on the Islamic republic's main nuclear sites.

After the strikes, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader warned that bases in the region used to launch US attacks "will be considered legitimate targets".

Fears were also growing over possible intervention by Iran-backed armed factions around the Middle East, who have threatened Washington's interests should it join Israel's campaign.

Israel has already fought a war in Lebanon with the Tehran-backed militant group Hezbollah, leaving it badly weakened before a ceasefire took hold in November.

On Sunday, Hezbollah said the US strikes revealed "the true face of the United States of America as the largest threat to regional and international security and stability".

The group has not previously expressed any intention to intervene militarily on Iran's side, but its chief Naim Qassem said last week that it would "act as we see fit".

Washington has a "do not travel" advisory in place for Lebanon.

Iraq, meanwhile, has for years navigated a delicate balancing act between its allies Tehran and Washington, has also long been a fertile ground for proxy battles.

On Sunday, the Iraqi government expressed "its deep concern and strong condemnation of the targeting of nuclear facilities" in Iran, spokesperson Basim Alawadi said.

"This military escalation constitutes a grave threat to peace and security in the Middle East and poses serious risks to regional stability," he added.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Interference to astronomy the unintended consequence of faster internet
Russian rocket puts Iran satellite into space: Iran media
Viasat unveils IoT Nano service for global low-power connectivity

24/7 Energy News Coverage
NASA's X-59 moves under its own power
Sri Lanka orders Singapore shipowner to pay US$1 bn over marine disaster
More than 80% of Tuvalu seeks Australian climate visa

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
New MachLab rocket test site launches UK into next phase of space engineering
Ukraine's anti-graft body says new bill restores independence
Iran meets European powers amid threats of UN sanctions snapback

24/7 News Coverage
Australia's mammal megafauna face long-term decline from extinctions and invasive species
Alien life clues may emerge from deep sea volcanic vents on Earth
Seismic signatures reveal fragmentation patterns of fireball meteoroids



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.