The U.S. State Department issued a Security Alert Wednesday morning ordering the departure of all non-emergency U.S. government employees from Iraq.

The alert calls for the immediate evacuation of non-emergency workers from both the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and the U.S. Consulate in Erbil.

“Normal visa services at both posts will be temporarily suspended,” the alert reads. “The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in Iraq.”

The order comes amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran. In the wake of President Donald Trump’s decision last year to withdraw the U.S. from the 2015 Obama-era Iran nuclear deal, the administration has reimposed sanctions on Iran.

And in April, the administration said countries that import Iranian oil will be subject to sanctions, CNN reported.

Sanctions against Iran have pushed the nation toward economic crisis in recent months.

“Last week, Iran warned it would begin enriching uranium at higher levels in 60 days if world powers failed to negotiate new terms for the deal,” according to The Times of Israel.

It appears that this is not the only way Iran has attempted to push western leaders to meet its nuclear deal demands.

The U.S. government reported last week that evidence suggests Iran and its proxies could soon take aim at Americans and American interests in the area, according to the The Associated Press.

Meanwhile, Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for drone attacks that targeted Saudi Arabian pumping stations earlier this week.

And Wednesday’s State Department evacuation order came after the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad issued a similar alert Sunday.

“The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad advises all U.S. citizens of heightened tensions in Iraq and the requirement to remain vigilant,” the alert reads.

Americans in the area should “avoid places known as U.S. citizen gathering points,” the alert said. But in general, U.S. citizens should “not travel to Iraq” at all.

Last week, Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie, who heads U.S. Central Command, issued a blunt warning to Iran as the U.S. dispatched a carrier strike group and bomber task force to the region, the Washington Examiner reported.

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“First, it sends a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian regime that any attack on U.S. interests will be met with unrelenting force,” McKenzie said at a Foundation for Defense of Democracies conference in Washington, D.C.

“If a fight is to be had, we will be fully prepared to respond and defend our interests,” McKenzie continued. “And it won’t be a fair fight.”

Trump also weighed in Tuesday on the growing tensions with Iran, denying a report that U.S. officials were working on a plan that would send upward of 100,000 troops to the Middle East.

“I think it’s fake news,” Trump said. “Would I do that? Absolutely. But we have not planned for that. Hopefully, we’re not going to have to plan for that.”

“And if we did that, we’d send a hell of a lot more troops than that,” Trump said.

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards. </s> The State Department ordered Wednesday the departure of non-emergency US government employees from Iraq amid increasing tensions with Iran and warned US citizens not to travel to the country, citing a “high risk for violence and kidnapping.”

The department said in a statement that employees working in the US embassy in Baghdad and the US consulate in Erbil were instructed to leave Iraq, and that “normal visa services will be temporarily suspended at both posts.”

It added that American Citizens Services employees who were working in the embassy in Baghdad “will continue to provide consular services to U.S. citizens in Basrah.”

The department said the sudden changes were because the US government’s “ability to provide routine and emergency services to US citizens in Iraq is extremely limited” and that as a result, the threat of “terrorism, kidnapping, and armed conflict” aimed at Americans in the country was too great a risk.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made an unannounced visit to Iraq last week amid escalating tensions with Iran.

While there, Pompeo said he spoke to Iraqi officials “about the importance of Iraq ensuring that it’s able to adequately protect Americans in their country.”

US officials have told CNN the US had “specific and credible” intelligence that suggested Iranian forces and proxies were planning to target US forces in locations including Iraq. That intelligence led the Pentagon to recommend a carrier strike group be moved to the region.

The State Department also said Wednesday that Americans “should not travel through Iraq to Syria to engage in armed conflict” as they may face similar threats in Syria and face “legal risks” from both the US and Syria.

The orders from the State Department come a day after US Central Command, which oversees US military operations in the Middle East, said in a statement that the Pentagon has increased the threat risk for US troops in Iraq and Syria.

“US Central Command, in coordination with Operation Inherent Resolve, has increased the force posture level for all service members assigned to OIR in Iraq and Syria. As a result, OIR is now at a high level of alert as we continue to closely monitor credible and possibly imminent threats to US forces in Iraq,” US Navy Capt. Bill Urban, a spokesman for Central Command, said in a statement Tuesday.

Urban’s statement also pushed back against comments made earlier Tuesday by the deputy commander of the US-led military coalition against ISIS, UK Major Gen. Chris Ghika, who said “there has been no increased threat from Iranian backed forces in Iraq and Syria.” </s> Great Britain also issued security alert for its personnel in Iraq. The threat leveal was raised for UK troops and diplomats in Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia as well.

Earlier this week the US State Department ordered the departure of "non-emergency government employees" from Baghdad and Erbil after US Central Command spokesman Bill Urban that the US-led coalition was on high alert because it saw credible threats to American forces in Iraq.

READ MORE: Iran Reminds of US Lies Before Iraq War, Hints US Official Behind Scaremongering

However, British Maj. Gen. Christopher Ghika, who is a deputy commander of the coalition forces, stated that the threat level by Iranian-backed groups against the troops in Iraq and Syria has not risen.

The news comes after the US increased its military presence in the Middle East amid growing tensions with Tehran, sending an aircraft carrier strike group to the Persian Gulf.

READ MORE: Russian FM: Iran Had the Right to Partially Suspend Nuclear Deal Commitments

According to White House National Security Adviser John Bolton, Washington is fully prepared to "respond to any attack, whether by proxy, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or regular Iranian forces".

In the meantime, the Islamic Republic has suspended certain obligations under the 2015 nuclear deal, giving five remaining signatories — France, the UK, Russia, China, and Germany — a 60-day deadline to take measures towards ensuring the country's interests amid US sanctions. </s> Alex Wong/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump issued a strong warning to Iran Sunday, tweeting that military engagement with the United States would mean “the official end of Iran.”

Trump’s threat comes amid rising tensions between Washington and Tehran.

The New York Times reported last week that the administration was considering sending as many as 120,000 troops to the Middle East if Iran attacked “American forces or accelerate work on nuclear weapons.” Trump denied the report, but added he would “send a hell of a lot more troops than that” if it happened.

When asked by a reporter on Thursday whether or not the U.S. was going to war with Iran, President Trump replied, “I hope not.”

Earlier this month, the United States deployed an aircraft carrier strike group and a bomber task force to the Middle East in response to “clear indications” Iran or its proxies were planning an attack on U.S. forces in the region, U.S. officials told ABC News. The Pentagon announced on May 10 it was sending a Patriot anti-missile battery to the area as well as a further deterrent. On Wednesday, the State Department ordered all non-emergency personnel at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and the U.S. consulate in Erbil, Iraq, to leave.

In an interview that aired earlier on Sunday, Gen. David Petraeus, the retired four-star general who led troops into battle during the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, told ABC’s “This Week” Co-Anchor Martha Raddatz that he believes Trump doesn’t want to go to war with Iran.

“It’s pretty clear that [Trump] doesn’t want to go to war with Iran.,” Petraeus said. “He’s not after regime change.”

This is not the first time the president has issued a public warning to the Islamic Republic.

On Tuesday, Pentagon officials are expected to brief Congress about the intelligence that generated the deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and B-52’s to deter Iran. </s> Iran threat: Fears of an attack have led to an increased security alert

British military and diplomatic service personnel in the Middle East have been placed on an increased state of alert as fears grow of an attack by Iran on UK targets in the strife-torn region. A Foreign Office spokeswoman declined to immediately comment on the reports. It is believed tensions between Iran and the US were a “hot topic” in Tuesday’s National Security Council meeting.

The heightened alert from British officials comes after the US ordered all non-essential government staff to leave Iraq.

Germany and the Netherlands have also suspended their military assistance programmes in the volatile country.

Tensions have reached boiling point in the Persian Gulf region over unspecified threats the US says are linked to Iran.

US defence chiefs have been positioning warships, bombers and thousands of troops in the Persian Gulf.

Washington officials said they had detected signs of Iranian preparations for potential attacks on US forces and interests in the Middle East have not elaborated on that threat.

Iran’s supreme leader issued a veiled warning on Tuesday whenhe said it would not be difficult for the Islamic Republic to enrich uranium to weapons-grade levels but officials such sabre-rattling is not unusual from the regime's hardline leadership.

The movement of diplomatic personnel is often done in times of conflict but what is driving the decisions from the White House remains unclear. </s> The US State Department on Wednesday ordered all non-emergency staff to leave its embassy in Baghdad and consulate in Arbil, as tensions mount between the United States and Iraq's neighbor Iran.

Washington has ramped up pressure on Tehran in recent days, accusing Iran of planning "imminent" attacks in the region, and bolstering the American military presence in the Gulf.

"Numerous terrorist and insurgent groups are active in Iraq and regularly attack both Iraqi security forces and civilians," a travel advisory warned.

"Anti-US sectarian militias may also threaten US citizens and Western companies throughout Iraq."

The US last year shut its consulate in the protest-hit southern Iraqi city of Basra, blaming "indirect fire" by Iran-backed forces and warning its rival of retaliation for any damage.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week paid a surprise trip to Baghdad in a move to bolster ties with Iraq as it pushes ahead with its "maximum pressure" against Tehran -- a US arch-rival, but an ally of Iraq.

He told reporters he had made the trip because Iranian forces are "escalating their activity" and said the threat of attacks were "very specific."

Pompeo met with Iraq President Barham Saleh and Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi, and spoke to them "about the importance of Iraq ensuring that it's able to adequately protect Americans in their country."

The Pentagon said it was sending several massive, nuclear-capable B-52s to the region in response to "recent and clear indications that Iranian and Iranian proxy forces were making preparations to possibly attack US forces."

Both Pompeo and Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have this week played down fears that their countries were seeking conflict.

But National Security Advisor John Bolton warned Iran that Washington would respond with "unrelenting force" to any attack by Tehran, including by its regional allies.

Blasts involving improvised explosive devices (IEDs) occur in many areas of Iraq, including the capital Baghdad, the advisory added. Arbil is the Iraqi Kurdish regional capital, in northern Iraq.

Get the latest election news, live updates and election schedule for Lok Sabha Elections 2019 on ndtv.com/elections. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram for updates from each of the 543 parliamentary seats for the 2019 Indian general elections. Election results will be out on May 23. </s> US President Donald Trump has lashed out against Iran, vowing to "end" the Middle Eastern country if it continues to threaten the US.

In true Trump fashion, the warning came in the form of a fiery tweet.

"If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran," the tweet read.

"Never threaten the United States again!"

In his post, Mr Trump also blamed former president Barack Obama for allowing Iran to become the "largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world".

"Thank God we have a president that will stand up to them instead of shipping pallets of cash to them," he wrote.

Tensions between the two nations have risen in recent weeks, with the President's warning coming just days after Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the country did not want conflict.

"There will be no war because neither do we want a war nor has anyone the idea or illusion it can confront Iran in the region," Mr Zarif said.

Earlier this month, the US Government sent an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the Persian Gulf after claiming there were signs Iran could be planning an attack against US forces.

The Trump administration has ordered non-essential diplomatic staff out of Iraq, citing threats from Iranian-backed Iraqi armed groups.

On Sunday, a Katyusha rocket was fired into Baghdad's Green Zone housing government offices and embassies, including the US mission.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack.

The White House has sent mixed signals in recent days, amid multiple US media reports of infighting in Trump's cabinet over how hard to push Washington's arch foe Iran.

According to US media reports, Mr Trump's long-hawkish national security adviser John Bolton is pushing a hard line on Iran, but others in the administration are resisting.

Mr Trump said recently he had to "temper" Mr Bolton.

Iran-US relations hit a new low last year as Mr Trump pulled out of a 2015 nuclear deal and reimposed unilateral sanctions that had been lifted in exchange for Tehran scaling back its nuclear program.

Saudi Arabia on Sunday called for emergency regional talks to discuss the mounting Gulf tensions, saying it does not want war with Iran but is ready to defend itself. </s> BAGHDAD (AP) — The U.S. Embassy in Iraq is advising U.S. citizens against traveling to the country amid what it called “heightened tensions,” reflecting worsening strains between Washington and Tehran. The advisory was posted on…

BAGHDAD (AP) — The U.S. Embassy in Iraq is advising U.S. citizens against traveling to the country amid what it called “heightened tensions,” reflecting worsening strains between Washington and Tehran.

The advisory was posted on Twitter on Sunday night. The U.S. has long advised its citizens against travel to Iraq, but the renewed warning followed Washington’s deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and B-52 bombers to the Persian Gulf in response to unspecified “threats” by Iran.

The warning follows a surprise visit to Baghdad by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week which he said was aimed at demonstrating U.S. support for the Iraqi government, as the U.S. says it has been picking up intelligence that Iran is threatening American interests in the Middle East.

During his visit, Pompeo also said he wanted to underscore Iraq’s need to protect Americans in the country.

Tensions between the U.S. and Iran have rocketed since President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the 2015 nuclear treaty with Iran and re-imposed severe sanctions on Iran’s energy and finance sectors.

The strain has tested Iraq’s leaders as they try to balance relations between the two rivals. Iraq sees billions of dollars in cross-border trade with Iran and has close ties with Tehran after it stepped in to fill the political vacuum following the 2003 U.S. invasion.

But Iraq is also host to more than 5,000 U.S. servicemen and women invited by the Iraqi parliament in 2014 to assist in the war against the Islamic State group.

Copyright © 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed. </s> The U.S. military put its forces in Iraq on high alert, and the State Department ordered all nonemergency employees Wednesday to leave the country immediately amid escalating tensions with Iran. Some U.S. allies have expressed skepticism about the Trump administration’s claims that Iran poses a growing threat.

Navy Capt. Bill Urban, a spokesman at the U.S. military’s Central Command, said in a statement that there were "possibly imminent threats to U.S. forces in Iraq" as he sought to clarify contradictory remarks by a British commander Tuesday.

British Maj. Gen. Christopher Ghika, a senior officer in the U.S.-backed coalition fighting the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, said, "There’s been no increased threat from Iranian-backed forces in Iraq and Syria." Urban rebutted Ghika's remarks in a sign of how the United States and its close allies have split over Iran's potential threat.

Applying "maximum pressure" on Iran is a central tenet of the Trump administration's foreign policy. Trump withdrew the United States from a nuclear deal reached between Iran and world powers in 2015, reimposed crushing sanctions and boosted the U.S. military presence in the Persian Gulf. Unease that Washington and Tehran could be headed toward military confrontation has mounted.

Iran to Trump: You are playing 'very dangerous game,' risking 'devastating war'

In Baghdad, the U.S. Embassy published a statement Wednesday saying the State Department mandated that all nonemergency government staff leave the country after Washington said last week it detected urgent "credible" threats from Iran and its proxy forces in the region targeting Americans and U.S. interests.

Specific details about the intelligence have not been revealed.

Saudi Arabia said this week that two of its oil tankers and other energy-related infrastructure were damaged in an act of "sabotage" in the Gulf. Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who are fighting a war with Saudi Arabia, claimed responsibility for drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities Tuesday.

Federica Mogherini, Europe's top foreign affairs diplomat, called for the United States to show "maximum restraint" after meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Mixed messages: Varied points of view from Trump on Iran

When the United States pulled out of the nuclear deal in May last year, the other signatories to the accord – Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the European Union – vowed to stay in and establish a financial mechanism that would allow them to keep trade and other ties with Iran open amid the U.S. sanctions. They have struggled to achieve that. As a result, Iran gave European countries 60 days to find a way of salvaging the agreement or it would start enriching uranium to far higher levels.

If nothing happens when the 60 days are up, "there will be consequences from our side," Hamid Baeidinejad, Iran’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, told USA TODAY and other media outlets during a briefing in Iran's Embassy in London on Tuesday.

Successive U.S. administrations have viewed Iran as a regional troublemaker and described it as the "largest state sponsor of terrorism." Tehran aids a number of Shiite militant groups in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and elsewhere across the Middle East. The Trump administration pulled out of the nuclear deal in part because of that and also because the deal does not address Iran's ballistic missile activity.

Iran or its proxies, such as Hezbollah, Hamas and the Taliban, have carried out bombings, abductions and hijackings against the USA and other Western nations.

"Iran is certain to continue to pursue its regional strategy, unless and until its adversaries are willing or able to blunt Iran’s efforts," the authors of a new report by the Soufan Center, a global security research center, wrote. "Rolling back Tehran’s regional influence will require an equally nimble approach combining diplomacy, smart counter-terrorism policy, and a nuanced understanding of how and why Iran’s soft power efforts have been successful so they may be effectively countered."

New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said lawmakers needed an immediate briefing from Trump administration officials on the alleged threats from Iran. He said there are only two reasons for the State Department to order the departure of U.S. Embassy staff from Baghdad: credible intelligence Americans are at risk or preparation for military action.

"The Trump administration has not provided any information to this committee on the intelligence behind their decisions or what they plan to do in Iraq or Iran," he said.

War plan?: Trump dismisses report of plan to send troops to Middle East

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The United States Department of State orders all non-emergency, non-essential government employees at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and Erbil consulate office to leave Iraq amid heightened tensions in the Persian Gulf between the United States and Iran.