US Embassy again urges Americans in Iraq to depart

BAGHDAD — The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Saturday urged American citizens in Iraq to leave the country as soon as safely possible, warning that Iran and Iran-aligned groups “continue to pose a significant threat to public safety” as Iraq has emerged as one of the most active fronts in the widening regional war.

“There have been calls for attacks against U.S. citizens and U.S. interests in Iraq,” the embassy said in a security alert, adding that hotels frequented by foreigners in the Kurdistan Region have been targeted and that critical infrastructure sites across Iraq have also been attacked. It urged Americans to maintain a low profile and avoid congregating in areas associated with the United States.

The warning came on a night of sustained strikes across the country. Rockets targeted the U.S. Embassy itself in Baghdad’s Green Zone, with witnesses reporting air defenses activated overhead. Earlier in the evening, explosions rocked Erbil in a second attack of the night, with C-RAM defense systems intercepting projectiles over the city and smoke rising near the airport. In Sulaymaniyah, two separate strikes hit the Peshmerga Forces Command headquarters and sparked a fire at the location of a former UN office that is no longer in use.

The attacks were the latest in a relentless campaign against the Kurdistan Region since the war began Feb. 28, when U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and triggered waves of retaliatory drone and missile attacks. The region has since endured more than 110 attacks, with Saraya Awliya al-Dam — operating under the Islamic Resistance in Iraq banner — claiming repeated attacks including on Erbil International Airport, and a hotel. Iran’s IRGC has separately conducted direct strikes on those opposition bases, targeting PDKI and Komala positions across Erbil and Sulaymaniyah.

Overnight strikes have killed two people: a security employee at Erbil International Airport and a Iranian Kurdish opposition fighter in Sulaymaniyah.

Elsewhere in Iraq, the week saw drone strikes hit the Burjesia oil complex in Basra, causing fires at facilities reportedly used by U.S. companies Halliburton and KBR. Unidentified aircraft carried out a series of strikes on PMF positions in Nineveh, Anbar and Babil. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed 23 attacks across the country in a single 24-hour period on Saturday alone.

With commercial flights suspended under Iraq’s ongoing airspace closure, extended Saturday for another 72 hours until Tuesday noon, the embassy said overland routes to Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Turkey remain the only available departure options. Though it cautioned that borders could close on short notice and that airspace in neighboring countries may also be affected.

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani condemned Saturday night’s rocket attack on the embassy as “a terrorist act” and ordered security forces to pursue those responsible, saying targeting diplomatic missions “cannot be justified or accepted under any circumstances.” The attack came hours after National Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji had pledged that Iraq would protect all embassies and diplomatic missions on its soil.

This article has been amended to clarify that the UN office in Sulaymaniyah is no longer in use