Hundreds protest near US Embassy in Baghdad as crowds push toward Green Zone

BAGHDAD — Hundreds of demonstrators gathered Saturday near the Green Zone in central Baghdad to protest U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, with some attempting to push past security forces toward the U.S. Embassy before being blocked.

Protesters waved Iranian, Iraqi and pro-Iran armed group flags and chanted “death to Israel,” “death to America” and “for you Khamenei,” referring to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, an AFP journalist reported.

A 964media correspondent said pushing broke out between protesters and security forces near the bridge as some tried to cross into the Green Zone.

Security forces deployed heavily around the area and closed the 14th of July Bridge — the closest crossing to the U.S. Embassy — as a precaution. The Interior Ministry urged residents to use al-Jumhuriya Bridge as an alternative. The Spain Embassy in Iraq advised its citizens to “exercise extreme caution” in Baghdad, particularly after the 7 p.m. prayer.

The protest follows coordinated U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran earlier Saturday and subsequent Iranian missile and drone launches across the region, including in Iraq. Airstrikes hit Jurf al-Nasr in Babil, missiles targeting sites near Erbil International Airport were intercepted, and several armed factions have warned of attacks on U.S. bases.