BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Jan 7, CMC – The United States Tuesday urged nationals in the Caribbean to be cautious as a result of the “heightened tension in the Middle East” as Washington continued to defend its targeted missile strike that killed senior Iranian general Qassem Soleimani last week.

Iran has vowed to revenge his death and the US Embassy here said the tension “may result in security risks to US citizens abroad” and that the Embassy would ‘continue to review the security situation and provide additional information as needed”.

It urged Americans to keep a low profile, be aware of their surroundings as well as staying alert in locations frequented by tourists and reviewing their personal security plans. In addition, the Americans were also urged to have travel documents up to date and easily accessible. On Tuesday, Us Secretary of State Mike Pompeo defended the decision of President Donald Trump to order the strike that killed Soleimani, insisting that the American President was right to order the killing and sarcastically dismissed any suggestion that Soleimani might have been in Iraq for peaceful purposes.

“Is there any history that would indicate that it was remotely possible that this kind gentleman, this diplomat of great order, Qassem Soleimani, had traveled to Baghdad for the idea of conducting a peace mission?” Pompeo asked reporters at the State Department. “We know that wasn’t true.”

He warned that if Iran were to make another “bad choice,” he was confident President Trump would respond “as he did last week, in a decisive, serious manner.” Caribbean governments have so far not made any official statement regarding the situation in the Middle East.