US Reduces Presence at Middle East Embassies Amid Rising Tensions

The State Department has ordered the departure of nonessential personnel from Baghdad and authorized a voluntary departure from Bahrain and Kuwait.
US Reduces Presence at Middle East Embassies Amid Rising Tensions
The Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq, on Aug. 29, 2022. Thaier Al-Sudani/Reuters
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The United States has begun decreasing the number of staffers present at its embassies in the Middle East because of heightened security risk.

The State Department ordered the departure of all nonessential personnel and their families at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad—which already has limited staffing—on June 11 after its latest review, citing its commitment “to keeping Americans safe, both at home and abroad.”