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It’s highly unlikely US will close its embassy in Iraq: Expert

Tuesday, 29 September 2020 9:29 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 29 September 2020 9:37 AM ]

In this file photo taken on January 02, 2020 Iraqi forces stand guard in front of the US embassy in the capital Baghdad after hundreds of protesters stormed the high-security Green Zone and besieged the US compound. (AFP photo)

James Jatras, a former US Senate foreign policy adviser, has said that it is highly unlikely the United States will close its embassy in Iraq.

The US has reportedly said it is closing its embassy in Baghdad unless Iraq prevents rocket attacks.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reportedly called Iraqi President Barham Salih and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on Sunday.

“What we’re being told is that it is a gradual closure of the embassy over two to three months,” an Iraqi official was cited as saying in a Wall Street Journal report.

US reportedly says it is shutting down Baghdad embassy

The US has reportedly said it is closing its embassy in Baghdad unless Iraq prevents rocket attacks.

“I would be very surprised if Secretary Pompeo follows through with his threat to close the American embassy in Baghdad. This has essentially been treated by Washington as a government within a government, the real government of Iraq ever since the 2003 invasion. It's one of the biggest American embassies in the world,” Jatras told Press TV on Monday.

“We still have troops in Iraq that Mr. Trump says he wants to reduce and remove from that country. Mr. Pompeo doesn't want to do that,” he said.

I can't imagine he would get rid of this huge lever of influence over the Iraqi government by withdrawing from our embassy from Iraq, especially since his big complaint is pro-Iranian militias in Iraq. What would be a bigger gift from his point of view to the Iranians, than to remove the American Embassy?” he asked.

“So I think he's just trying to play some kind of political hardball with the Iraqis. So we'll see if he actually follows through on it,” he noted.

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