Barring its Embassy in Yemen and the Consulate in lahore, the United States is reopening 18 of its diplomatic missions in North Africa and West Asia that were shutdown for a full week following intercepts pointing to the possibility of a major terrorist attack somewhere in the region.
However, the Embassy in Sanaa, Yemen will remain closed because of “ongoing concerns about a threat stream indicating the potential for terrorist attacks emanating from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula”, the State Department said.
“Our Consulate in lahore, which closed Yesterday (on Friday) due to a separate credible threat, will also remain closed,” said spokeswoman Jen Psaki in a statement, adding: “We will continue to evaluate the threats to Sanaa and lahore and make subsequent decisions about the re-opening of those facilities.”
While some Republicans dubbed the decision to close down so many missions as a case of “overreaction”, Psaki said the US agencies will “continue to evaluate information about these and all of our posts and to take appropriate steps to best protect the safety of our personnel, American citizens traveling overseas, and visitors to our facilities”.