By Sunday, Washington had begun preparations to withdraw diplomatic staff if such a decision is taken, those sources and the two Western diplomats said. The concern among the Iraqis is that pulling out diplomats would be followed quickly by military action against forces Washington blamed for attacks. One of the Western diplomats said the US administration did not “want to be limited in their options” to weaken Iran or pro-Iranian militias in Iraq. One roadside attack hit a British convoy in Baghdad, the first of its kind against Western diplomats in Iraq for years. Some Iraqi officials dismissed Pompeo’s threat to pull out diplomats as bluster, designed to scare armed groups into stopping attacks.

Source: bd News24 September 28, 2020 13:07 UTC