US embassy in Iraq preparing for ordered evacuation due to ‘heightened security risks’, sources say

BAGHDAD (Reuters) -The U.S. embassy in Iraq is preparing for an ordered evacuation due to heightened security risks in the region, an Iraqi security official and a U.S. source said on Wednesday.

Iran’s Minister of Defense Aziz Nasirzadeh said earlier in the day that Tehran will strike U.S. bases in the region if nuclear talks and conflict arise with Washington.

(Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed, Timour Azhari and Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by Sharon Singleton)