US orders non-essential embassy staff to leave Iraq amid Iran tensions

The US embassy in Baghdad has ordered all non-essential and
non-emergency staff to leave Iraq immediately as tensions grow between
Washington and Iran.
Last week, Washington said it had detected new and urgent
threats from Iran and its proxy forces in the region targeting Americans and US
interests.
The remarks contradict comments from Maj Gen Chris Ghika, a
British senior officer in the US-backed coalition fighting Islamic State, who
said: “There’s been no increased threat from Iranian-backed forces in Iraq and
Syria.”
US Central Command later said Ghika’s remarks “run counter
to the identified credible threats” from Iranian-backed forces in the Middle
East. In a written statement, it said the coalition in Baghdad had increased
the alert level for all service members in Iraq and Syria.
The order came as Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei, issued a veiled threat in the same speech in which he said “no one is
seeking war”, saying it would not be difficult for the Islamic Republic to enrich
uranium to weapons-grade levels, state media reported on Wednesday.
Khamenei’s comments followed a coordinated drone attack by
Houthi rebels in Yemen on a Saudi oil pipeline. A satellite image shows one of
the two pumping stations targeted by the drones apparently intact.
It comes after authorities in Saudi Arabia alleged oil tankers
off the coast of the United Arab Emirates were sabotaged.
The US also is deploying an aircraft carrier strike group
and B-52 bombers to the region in response to what it claims is an increased
threat from Iran, further ramping up tensions a year after Donald Trump
withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal.
Speaking on Tuesday evening, Khamenei downplayed the
likelihood of a wider conflict with the US.
“Neither we, nor them, is seeking war. They know that it is
not to their benefit,” he said. But the supreme leader reportedly told senior
officials Tehran would not negotiate with Washington.
On Wednesday, the state-run Iran newspaper reported his
comments on the nuclear programme, the first since Iran announced it would
begin backing away from the accord.
Tehran is threatening to resume higher enrichment – beyond
the 3.67% permitted by the outstanding deal – in 60 days if no new agreement is
reached.
Iranian officials have said they could reach 20% enrichment
within four days. Although Tehran insists its nuclear programme is peaceful,
scientists say the time needed to reach the 90% threshold for weapons-grade
uranium is halved once uranium is enriched to about 20%.
Khamenei said: “Achieving 20% enrichment is the most
difficult part. The next steps are easier than this step.”
It was a telling remark from Khamenei, who has final say on
all matters of state in Iran, which is not known to have enriched beyond 20%
previously.
The Houthis, who are at war with Saudi Arabia and are
believed by the west to receive weapons from Iran, said they launched seven
drones targeting key Saudi installations. These included two pumping stations
along a pipeline that can carry up to 5m barrels of crude oil a day.
The state-controlled oil company Saudi Aramco said it
temporarily closed the pipeline as a precaution. A fire also caused minor
damage to one pumping station, it said, adding that Saudi Aramco’s oil and gas
supplies were not affected.
Details of the alleged acts of sabotage against four
tankers, two of which belonged to Saudi Arabia, remain unclear. Satellite
images showed no visible damage to the vessels, and Gulf officials have refused
to say who they believe was responsible.