BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany has temporarily pulled staff from its embassy in Baghdad out of Iraq because of heightened security risks amid the conflict in the Middle East, a foreign ministry spokesperson said late on Monday.
"The personnel of the German embassy in Baghdad has now been temporarily relocated from Iraq because of the threat situation," the spokesperson said, adding that the safety of staff was being continuously assessed.
The embassy remains reachable, though its legal and consular services had already been severely limited for some time due to the security situation, the spokesperson said.
Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, speaking in Nicosia, Cyprus, late on Monday, said he had discussed the regional situation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Both condemned what Wadephul called Iran's "indiscriminate attacks" against countries in the region and urged Tehran to halt them.