NEW YORK: The United States on Friday 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.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ordered that all but emergency staff leave Basra, with consular duties to be taken over by the embassy in Baghdad.
Basra has been rocked by weeks of demonstrations by Iraqis protesting unemployment and government inefficiency in the oil-rich south.
Pompeo, who has made rolling back Iranian influence in the region a top priority, blamed militias linked to Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards for “indirect fire” — which usually means rockets or artillery — against the US consulate.
“I have advised the government of Iran that 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 in a statement while in New York to attend the UN General Assembly.
“I have made clear that Iran should understand that the United States will respond promptly and appropriately to any such attacks,” he added.
Ruled by Shiite clerics, Iran has a strong influence in Iraq, especially in the country’s Shiite-majority south.
Iran’s consulate itself was earlier burned down during the protests, although no one was injured and Tehran quickly opened a new mission.
Iran’s foreign ministry earlier called US allegations of fomenting violence in Basra “astonishing, provocative and irresponsible.”
Speaking at the General Assembly, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani also dismissed the US criticism of involvement in its neighbor, questioning why Washington itself was involved in a country so far away.
Earlier this month three mortar rounds also hit the fortified Green Zone area in Baghdad, home to the US embassy, without causing injuries and with the perpetrators unclear.
Diplomatic security is a key priority for the United States and Pompeo, who as a congressman went on the offensive against former secretary of state Hillary Clinton over a deadly attack on the US consulate in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi.
US shuts consulate in Iraq’s Basra, blames ‘indirect fire’
US shuts consulate in Iraq’s Basra, blames ‘indirect fire’
- The “ordered departure” of the consulate was announced Friday
- I have made clear that Iran should understand that the United States will respond promptly and appropriately to any such attacks: Pompeo
Senegalese president meets Kuwaiti crown prince ahead of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
- Bassirou Diomaye Faye visits Kuwait and the UAE this week to strengthen his country’s ties with Gulf nations
LONDON: The president of Senegal, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, arrived in Kuwait on Monday for an official visit before traveling on to the UAE to participate in Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.
Faye, who was accompanied by ministers responsible for national transformation, African integration, foreign affairs, finance and water management, held talks with Kuwait’s crown prince, Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, on a number of issues, officials said.
The president aims to strengthen ties between Senegal and Gulf countries during his visits to Kuwait and the UAE this week, his office said. And on Jan. 14 and 15 he will take part in the final two days of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, described as a significant annual, international event dedicated to addressing the challenges related to sustainable development, energy transition and innovation.
Faye was welcomed on arrival in Kuwait by the country’s prime minister, Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah; the deputy assistant foreign minister for African affairs, Naif Mohammed Al-Mudhaf; and other officials.
