US partially evacuates embassy staff from Iraq

Washington, June 12 Non-essential US embassy staff and their dependents have been ordered to leave Iraq due to unspecified security risks, sources from the US State Department have said.

"Based on our latest analysis, we decided to reduce the footprint of our mission in Iraq," the State Department said in a statement on Wednesday.

"We are constantly assessing the appropriate personnel posture at all our embassies," it added.

Also on Wednesday, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth approved the voluntary departure of US military dependents from the Middle East.

The security risks leading to the ordered departure from Iraq are not immediately clear, reports Xinhua news agency.

According to media reports, Iran recently threatened to strike US bases in the region if negotiations over Iran's nuclear program fail.

US President Donald Trump told a podcast on Wednesday that he was growing less confident in reaching a nuclear deal with Iran.

"I don't know," Trump told the "Pod Force One" podcast when asked about talks over the Iran nuclear program. "I don't know. I did think so, and I'm getting more and more - less confident about it."

Later on Wednesday, when asked why families of US military personnel were authorised to leave the Middle East, Trump said: "You will have to see."

White House special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi this weekend for a sixth round of nuclear talks.

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