Iran Attack: US Citizens Ordered To Flee Iraq Immediately As Tehran Vows Revenge

US citizens in Iraq have been told to leave the country immediately in the wake of the air strike which killed senior Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani amid concerns the situation could escalate into a full-blown war - with President Trump later reinforcing the advice.

The United States killed Iran's top general, regarded as the architect of Tehran's proxy wars in the Middle East in an airstrike at Baghdad's international airport on Friday ordered by US President Donald Trump. The attack dramatically increases already heightened tensions in the region, with religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warning of "severe revenge". An advisory posted by the embassy stated: "Due to heightened tensions in Iraq and the region, the US Embassy urges American citizens to heed the January 2020 Travel Advisory and depart Iraq immediately. US citizens should depart via airline while possible, and failing that, to other countries via land.

"Due to Iranian-backed militia attacks at the US Embassy compound, all public consular operations are suspended until further notice.

"US citizens should not approach the Embassy. The US Consulate General in Erbil is open for visa and American Citizen Services appointments, including passport issuance."

Dozens of US citizens working for foreign oil companies in the Iraqi oil city of Basra were preparing to leave the country on Friday, company sources said after the raid.

The evacuation will not affect operations, production or exports, Iraqi oil officials said.

Earlier the Pentagon said in a statement: "At the direction of the president, the US military has taken decisive defensive action to protect US personnel abroad by killing Qassem Soleimani.

"This strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans."

US officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Mr Soleimani was killed in a drone strike.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said he was killed in an attack by American helicopters.

The travel advice was later retweeted by Mr Trump.

Even before the death of Mr Soleimani, a level 4 travel advisory was in place in respect of Iraq, meaning US citizens were told not to travel there.

A statement posted on the US Department of State’s website on January 1 said: “US citizens in Iraq are at high risk for violence and kidnapping.

“Numerous terrorist and insurgent groups are active in Iraq and regularly attack both Iraqi security forces and civilians.

“Anti-US sectarian militias may also threaten US citizens and Western companies throughout Iraq.

“Attacks by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) occur in many areas of the country, including Baghdad.”

The statement added: “On December 31, 2019, the Embassy suspended public consular services, until further notice, as a result of damage done by Iranian-backed terrorist attacks on the Embassy compound.

"US citizens should not travel through Iraq to Syria to engage in armed conflict, where they would face extreme personal risks (kidnapping, injury, or death) and legal risks (arrest, fines, and expulsion).

"The Kurdistan Regional Government stated that it will impose prison sentences of up to ten years on individuals who illegally cross the border.

US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden acused Mr Trump of "tossing a stick of dynamite into a tinderbox".

Former vice president Mr Biden said the raid could leave the US "on the brink of a major conflict across the Middle East".

"Additionally, fighting on behalf of, or supporting designated terrorist organizations, is a crime that can result in penalties, including prison time and large fines in the United States.

Anyone who does opt to travel to Iraq is urged to draft a will before doing so, the State Department adds.

In a series of furious tweets, Ayatollah Khamenei said of Mr Soleimani: "His efforts & path won’t be stopped by his martyrdom, by God’s Power, rather a #SevereRevenge awaits the criminals who have stained their hands with his & the other martyrs’ blood last night.

"Martyr Soleimani is an Intl figure of Resistance & all such people will seek revenge.

"All friends - & enemies - know that Jihad of Resistance will continue with more motivation & definite victory awaits the fighters on this blessed path.

"The loss of our dear General is bitter.

"The continuing fight & ultimate victory will be more bitter for the murderers & criminals."

Iraq's prime minister condemned the attack, which also claimed the life of Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and said it would "light the fuse" of war.

Adel Abdul Mahdi said: "The assassination of an Iraqi military commander who holds an official position is considered aggression on Iraq and the liquidation of leading Iraqi figures or those from a brotherly country on Iraqi soil is a massive breach of sovereignty.

Mr Abdul Mahdi, whose government has the backing of Iran, said in a statement the US air strike was "a dangerous escalation that will light the fuse of a destructive war in Iraq, the region, and the world."

The UK's former ambassador to Lebanon has said Mr Soleimani was a "much more powerful figure than Osama bin Laden or Baghdadi, where at the moment of their own deaths, their power was in decline".

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Tom Fletcher said Mr Soleimani's power had bee growing since the US invasion of Iraq."

He said that Iran had been "goading Washington, goading Donald Trump", adding: "And of course, we don't just have erratic leaders at the moment in Tehran, we have an erratic leader in Washington as well."

On how Iran could retaliate, Mr Fletcher added: "The strategic response if they're feeling rational is probably to consolidate their position in Iraq, but elsewhere they have many more dangerous options including assassinations themselves or proxy wars or asymmetric attacks like the ones against the Saudi oil facilities."

Oil prices have also spiked to their highest level since September 2019, analysts revealed.