Iraqi authorities deployed additional security forces around the Saudi Embassy in Baghdad, while several Western diplomatic missions have restricted staff movements and reviewed evacuation plans amid concerns that diplomatic compounds could become targets following recent Saudi-U.S. strikes against armed factions in Iraq.
The measures underscore growing fears that the regional confrontation could spill into Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, where Iraqi officials worry that Iran-backed groups could retaliate against Saudi Arabia or the United States by targeting their diplomatic missions.
Iraqi security sources told MBN that the reinforcements around the Saudi Embassy were based on assessments warning that it could become “the closest target” should armed factions choose to retaliate against Riyadh inside Iraq rather than attack targets abroad.
The Saudi Embassy currently operates from the Al Rashid Hotel inside the Green Zone on a temporary basis. The ambassador and most core diplomatic staff, the sources said, left Iraq after war erupted on Feb. 28.
Diplomats in contact with Gulf missions said the Gulf Cooperation Council has adopted a coordinated approach under which member states will either return their diplomatic missions to Baghdad together or keep them outside Iraq until sufficient security guarantees are provided.
The move marks a departure from previous practice, under which each Gulf state negotiated separately with the Iraqi government over the security of its diplomatic mission.
The unified Gulf position followed a drone strike on the Al Rashid Hotel on March 16. The attack caused no casualties or significant damage, but the Saudi diplomatic team left Baghdad less than 24 hours later via a land route, according to sources who spoke to MBN at the time.
Western Embassies Tighten Precautions
Western sources said several embassies increased security measures for their personnel, with some instructing staff not to leave the Green Zone. Others updated emergency evacuation plans and reduced meetings and travel both within Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq. The U.S. Embassy has suspended meetings outside its compound except in essential cases, the sources added.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Embassy renewed its travel advisory for Iraq, warning that Iran-backed groups had launched attacks from Iraqi territory against targets both inside the country and elsewhere in the region.
The embassy also warned that travel restrictions or airspace closures could be imposed without notice and maintained Iraq at Level 4 — its highest travel advisory — urging U.S. citizens not to travel to the country.
Regional Tensions Fuel Security Concerns
Concerns escalated after Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense said its air defenses intercepted drones targeting oil facilities in the Eastern Province and Riyadh on July 27 and 28, adding that the attacks had originated from Iraqi territory.
The following day, Saudi forces, in coordination with U.S. Central Command, carried out strikes against sites belonging to Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq. Riyadh and Washington said the locations had been used to plan attacks against U.S. forces and Saudi energy infrastructure. It was the first time Saudi Arabia publicly acknowledged taking part in military strikes inside Iraq.
The Popular Mobilization Forces said at least 20 of its members were killed and another 32 wounded in strikes on sites across Baghdad, Wasit, Nineveh, Basra, Kirkuk, Karbala and Diyala provinces.
The Iraqi government condemned the strikes, while the National Security Council approved a plan aimed at preventing Iraqi territory from being used to threaten neighboring countries.
Saudi Embassy Still Without Permanent Headquarters
Baghdad and Riyadh severed diplomatic ties following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990. Relations were restored in 2004, but the Saudi Embassy did not resume operations in Baghdad until December 2015, ending a diplomatic break of more than 25 years.
Since then, the embassy has yet to secure a permanent headquarters. Although Saudi Arabia purchased land near the U.S. Embassy to build a new diplomatic compound, construction has not begun, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Gulf diplomatic missions withdrew from Iraq in March, while several other Arab countries reduced their diplomatic representation following a wave of rocket and drone attacks targeting diplomatic missions and the offices of foreign companies in Baghdad, Erbil, Basra and other Iraqi cities.
Adapted and translated from the original Arabic.
