US threat to shutter Baghdad embassy 'ongoing,' says Syria envoy

Outgoing US Syria envoy James Jeffrey says the State Department's threats to close the US Embassy in Iraq is "very serious."
WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 22: James Jeffrey, State Department special representative for Syria engagement and special envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, waits for the beginning of a hearing before Senate Foreign Relations Committee October 22, 2019 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The committee held a hearing on "Assessing the Impact of Turkey's Offensive in Northeast Syria." (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
James Jeffrey, State Department special representative for Syria engagement and special envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, waits for the beginning of a hearing before Senate Foreign Relations Committee Oct. 22, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. - Alex Wong/Getty Images
Al Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East
Al-Monitor Staff

The US State Department could close the US Embassy in Baghdad if Iraq’s government does not put a stop to militia attacks on foreign forces in the country, the outgoing US envoy for Syria said Thursday.

“That’s an ongoing issue,” former Syria envoy James Jeffrey said in an interview with Defense One. “It was not a bogus threat, it’s very serious.”

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