State Department orders departure of nonessential staff from embassy in Baghdad due to concern over increased security risks in the region.

The Iraqi government temporarily closed Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone on Friday, citing rising regional tensions after Israeli attacks on Iranian sites. The high-security area, which hosts key […]

The State Department is reportedly ordering the departure of all nonessential personnel from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. It will also authorize non-essential personnel to leave from other Middle East nations in the region.

The Baghdad embassy has already been on limited staffing, and the order will not affect a large number of personnel.

Another US official said that there was no change in operations at the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest US military base in the Middle East, and that no evacuation order had been issued for employees or families linked to the US Embassy in Qatar, which was operating as usual.

The price of oil initially increased more than 4% when news of the US evacuation broke, in anticipation of regional insecurity potentially leading to supply problems. Around 2,500 US troops are based in Iraq, according to the defence department.

The Iraqi dinar fell slightly on Thursday, as the country responds to the latest round of potential escalation between the United States and Iran.

The US State Department is set to order the departure of nonessential personnel from the embassy in Baghdad due to potential unrest. Limited staffing already exists, and similar orders are made for Bahrain and Kuwait.