Baghdad (AFP) - Iraq's foreign ministry voiced "regret" on Saturday over a US decision to shut its consulate in the southern city of Basra which has been rocked by weeks of deadly protests. "The ministry regrets the American decision to pull its staff out of Basra," a statement said. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ordered all but emergency staff to leave Basra, with consular duties to be taken over by the embassy in Baghdad. He blamed Iranian militias for "indirect fire" against the US consulate. The State Department also sent out a renewed advisory urging Americans not to travel to Iraq. Basra has been at the centre of protests that broke out in the southern province in July before spreading to other parts of the country, as demonstrators railed against poor services and condemned corruption among government officials. Protesters have set fire to several government buildings as well as headquarters of political parties and militias backed by Iran, which saw its consulate in Basra burnt to the ground. In Baghdad in early September, assailants fired three mortar rounds into the Green Zone, a heavily fortified area which is home to the Iraqi parliament, government offices and the US embassy. The rare attack did not cause casualties or damage. Neighbouring Iran is the other major outside power present in Iraq, alongside bitter foe the United States which led the 2003 invasion that toppled veteran dictator Saddam Hussein.<doc-sep>Mr Pompeo, who accused Iran of failing to prevent recent rocket attacks he said were directed at the consulate, said there were "increasing and specific" threats against Americans and US facilities in Iraq.<doc-sep>The State Department is closing the U.S. consular outpost in the southern Iraq city of Basra and evacuating its diplomatic staff following a series of threats and 'indirect fire' officials are blaming on militias backed by neighboring Iran. In a statement Friday. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a stern warning to Iran. "The United States will hold Iran directly responsible for any harm to Americans or to our diplomatic facilities in Iraq or elsewhere and whether perpetrated by Iranian forces directly or by associated proxy militias," he said. "I have made clear that Iran should understand that the United States will respond promptly and appropriately to any such attacks." The department cited various incidents in the last 24 hours, including a "duck and cover" response at the American compound in Basra in reaction to nearby attacks. "We are closely following reports of activity in Basra," a State Department spokesperson stated. The consulate in Basra was placed on "ordered departure" Friday, with Pompeo stating, "Given the increasing and specific threats and incitement to attack our personnel and facilities in Iraq, I have directed that an appropriate temporary relocation of diplomatic personnel in Iraq take place." Officials said the embassy in Baghdad will take over consular duties for Basra. The move follows saber rattling by Pompeo on Tuesday at a New York meeting of the organization United Against a Nuclear Iran. He blamed recent violence in Iraq on "proxies" supported, funded and trained by Iran. "Just a few weeks ago, Iranian-supported militias in Iraq launched life-threatening rocket attacks against the U.S. embassy compound in Baghdad and at the U.S. consulate in Basra," Pompeo said. "The United States will hold the regime in Tehran accountable for any attack that results in injury to our personnel or damage to our facilities," he said. At the same meeting, National Security Adviser John Bolton joined in the tough talk against Iran: "If you cross us, our allies, or our partners; if you harm our citizens; if you continue to lie, cheat, and deceive, yes, there will indeed be hell to pay," he said. After vowing to unravel President Barack Obama's Iran nuclear agreement, President Donald Trump in April reintroduced sanctions against Iran. Following the tensions in Basra, the State Department also reemphasized a travel advisory for Iraq that includes a no-go warning for Americans, adding "anti-U.S. sectarian militias may also threaten U.S. citizens and Western companies throughout Iraq." "U.S. citizens in Iraq are at high risk for violence and kidnapping," the warning states. "Numerous terrorist and insurgent groups are active in Iraq and regularly attack both Iraqi security forces and civilians."<doc-sep>
First, the Trump administration has begun a new campaign highlighting Iranian military activity in the region. Second, in Basra in August and September, violent protests by local residents led to the burning of the Iranian consulate and conspiratorial declarations by some Iraqi politicians that American officials had incited the protests. Third, and perhaps most important, the State Department has been internally debating for more than a year whether to shut down the Basra consulate to save money. Basra is in Iraq’s far south, in a region of rich oil fields near the Persian Gulf. The vast majority of the people are Shiite Arabs, and Shiite political parties dominate. Some of those parties, as well as some militias, are supported by Iran, which is majority Shiites. In August and early September, thousands of residents took to the streets of central Basra to call for the Iraqi government to deliver crucial services, including power and clean water. Frequent blackouts take place across the city in the summer months, when the region is sweltering. This year, many of the protesters also criticized Iran’s influence in Basra, and some stormed the Iranian consulate on Sept. 7, setting it on fire. Protesters also have been killed and injured in clashes with Iraqi security forces. The United States consulate is inside the perimeter of the Basra airport and far from the city’s center and protest sites. On Sept. 8, three rockets landed by the airport perimeter, but no one was injured or killed, according to a Reuters report from Iraq.