‘No known specific threats’ to Seattle in wake of Iran conflict

With Iran vowing “harsh retaliation” for a U.S. airstrike that killed one of the country’s top generals, Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best is assuring the city that there are “no known specific threats to Seattle” at this time.

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“We are closely tracking reporting out of Baghdad regarding the killing of the IRGC General,” Chief Best Tweeted out early Friday morning. “… we are staying apprised and in communication with our federal law enforcement partners.”

We are closely tracking reporting out of Baghdad regarding the killing of the IRGC General. There are no known specific threats to Seattle – we are staying apprised and in communication with our federal law enforcement partners.

— Chief Carmen Best (@carmenbest) January 3, 2020

Other police departments across the U.S. issued similar statements Friday morning, including the NYPD and LAPD. In New York City, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea noted that his department was also deploying “additional resources to key locations.”

The killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, marks a major escalation in the standoff between Washington and Iran, which has careened from one crisis to another since President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and imposed crippling sanctions.

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The United States urged American citizens to leave Iraq “immediately” following the Friday airstrike at Baghdad’s international airport that killed Soleimani and nine others, Iran’s state TV reported Friday. The State Department said the embassy in Baghdad, which was attacked by Iran-backed militiamen and their supporters earlier this week, is closed and all consular services have been suspended.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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