The United States orders the evacuation of diplomats from the Iraqi city of Basra, citing threats from Iran

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ordered the evacuation of US diplomats stationed at the US consulate in Basra, Iraq, citing "threats against our personnel and our facilities" from Iran and Iraq. of its representatives.

The closure of the consulate, one of three US posts in the country, follows at least two rocket attacks apparently targeting the US embassy in Baghdad and the mission to Basra this month. As the rockets landed safely, far from the facilities, they pointed to growing tensions between Washington and Tehran as Iraq tried to form a new government.

"Given the increasing and specific threats and the incentive to attack our personnel and our facilities in Iraq, I have ordered that an appropriate temporary relocation of diplomatic personnel to Iraq take place," he said. Pompeo while he was organizing a series of meetings with his foreign counterparts in New York. on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

[The U.S. and Iran are competing to shape Iraq’s new government. Both are failing.]

All week long, US officials have issued increasingly worrying warnings to Iran that the United States would aggressively react to any perceived threat to its interests in the Middle East. In a speech on Tuesday, National Security Advisor John Bolton promised that there would be a "hell to pay" if Iran continued to "cross" the United States or its allies.

The clashes occur as the US Treasury Department prepares to implement a new round of economic sanctions in November targeting the Iranian oil sector.

In Iraq, senior representatives of the United States and Iran fought to place allies in the key positions of Speaker of Parliament, President and Prime Minister. But since the May national elections, no country has been able to get enough support to fill the posts. UM Mohamed al Halbousi, who was chosen to occupy the post of President of Parliament, showed his willingness to work with both parties, but his rise was made to the detriment of the American favorite.

The race between Iran and the United States to form the next Iraqi government has undermined many Iraqis, who see it as an inappropriate interference in Iraqi affairs and a dangerous derivative of the Washington campaign to isolate Tehran politically and economically.

A senior Iraqi security official, on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to speak publicly, said that the decision to close the consulate in Basra did not appear to be motivated by a credible threat from the Iran or the militias he supports.

"We are not aware of the intention of Iran or its friends in Iraq to attack US diplomats or the consulate," said the official. "This is another unfortunate move that makes Iraq the playground of the American feud with Iran."

Since July, Basra has been the epicenter of a popular protest movement against government corruption and lack of basic services. Sometimes the protests have become violent and take on geopolitical dimensions. Protesters burned down government buildings and the Iranian consulate there, chanting what they called Iran's disproportionate influence on Iraq's internal affairs.

Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, the deputy commander of the Iraqi coalition of armed militias – many of whom are supported by Iran – blamed the attack on the Iranian consulate for saboteurs who he said were supported by the US consulate.

But these tensions have eased in recent weeks as Iraqi politicians continued to speed up the process of forming the government as the Basrah protest movement put pressure on it.

In its statement Friday, Pompeo said that the United States collaborated with the Iraqi government to face the Iranian threats.

"We are counting on all international parties interested in peace and stability in Iraq and the region to reinforce our message to Iran about the unacceptability of their behavior," he said.