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The French Embassy in Baghdad advised its nationals on Monday to leave Iraq's Kurdish administration, according to a message sent to French citizens in the region and seen by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“In light of the deteriorating regional security situation and the strikes on the autonomous Kurdish region, French citizens are advised to leave” northern Iraq via Türkiye, the French mission said.
Earlier Saturday, Iraqi authorities closed the country’s airspace.
Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region hosts U.S.-led coalition troops, and its capital, Erbil, is home to a major US consulate complex, making it a target of the war in the Middle East, triggered by the joint US-Israeli strikes Saturday on Iran.
For days, loud bangs have been heard in Erbil as U.S. air defences repeatedly intercepted drones.
The The joint US-Israeli military campaign launched on Saturday has killed several senior Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Gulf countries. Three US service members have been killed and five others seriously wounded.
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