U.S. threatens to close embassy in Baghdad

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said on Wednesday if the United States shutters its diplomatic mission in the country, other nations might follow. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Iraqi President Barham Salih and Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi that the Trump administration would close the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad if they didn’t take steps to stop recurring attacks.

What happened? Iran-backed militias and rogue groups in recent weeks have targeted Baghdad’s Green Zone, where several embassies and the Iraqi government are based. A rocket attack intended for the Baghdad airport killed six Iraqi civilians, all women and children, when it hit a house on Monday night. The next day, a roadside bomb targeted a U.S.-led coalition convoy south of the capital.

Dig deeper: Read Mindy Belz’s report on the effect of hostility between Iran and the United States on Iraqi Christians.