US threat to shutter Baghdad embassy 'ongoing,' says Syria envoy
Outgoing US Syria envoy James Jeffrey says the State Department's threats to close the US Embassy in Iraq is "very serious."
The US State Department could close the US Embassy in Baghdad if Iraq’s government does not put a stop to militia attacks on foreign forces in the country, the outgoing US envoy for Syria said Thursday.
“That’s an ongoing issue,” former Syria envoy James Jeffrey said in an interview with Defense One. “It was not a bogus threat, it’s very serious.”
A spokesperson for the State Department did not immediately return Al-Monitor’s request for comment.
Al-Monitor first reported in September that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned top Iraqi leaders in a letter that the United States would shutter its embassy in Baghdad if the Iraqi government did not put a stop to militia attacks on US personnel.
