Non-essential US embassy staff and their dependants in Baghdad are to be evacuated from Iraq due to heightened security risks, US government sources have said, BBC reported.

Officials did not say exactly what prompted the removal, however, on Wednesday, US officials were told Israel was ready to launch an operation into Iran, the BBC's US partner CBS reported, citing officials familiar with the matter.

The officials said this was part of the reason the US advised some Americans to leave the region, and that the US anticipated Iran could retaliate on certain US sites in Iraq.

It comes as US talks over Iran's nuclear programme appear to have stalled in recent days, according to BBC.