WASHINGTON, April 10: The United States has renewed its call to more than 60 countries to shut down Iraqi embassies, seize their assets and expel senior diplomats following the fall of Baghdad to US forces, senior State Department officials said on Thursday.

US diplomats in the 62 countries where Iraq had diplomatic missions have been told to again take the request to their host governments, many of which refused when it was first made shortly after the conflict began last month, the officials said.

“Before, these governments could argue that Saddam Hussein’s government was still there and there was no reason to comply,” the official said. “That argument doesn’t hold water anymore.

A second official said there were two parts to the request.

The first part seeks the expulsion of members of the Iraqi Intelligence Service (IIS) masquerading as diplomats, who Washington believes pose a threat to US interests abroad, the official said.

The second part of the request deals with the closure of Iraqi embassies and the confiscation of their assets.—AFP