At 104 acres (42 ha), it is the largest U.S. diplomatic mission compound; nearly equal in area size to the Vatican City.

It replaced the previous embassy, which opened July 1, 2004 in Baghdad's Green Zone in a former Palace of Saddam Hussein.

[8] The embassy was also repeatedly attacked by Iranian-aligned Iraqi Shiite militias and Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps following President Trump's order for a drone strike assassination against Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in Baghdad Airport on 3 January 2020.

[9][10] This building remained the embassy until the Six-Day War of 1967, when many Arab countries broke off diplomatic relations with the United States.

USINT was housed in what had earlier been the Romanian Embassy building, in the Masbah section of the city, on the east bank of the Tigris and opposite the Foreign Ministry Club.

The building lost its embassy status just before the Gulf War in 1991, which caused a second breach of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

[13] A new complex for the embassy was constructed along the Tigris River, west of the Arbataash Tamuz Bridge, and facing Al-Kindi street to the north.

During construction, the U.S. government kept many aspects of the project under wraps, with many details released only in a U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee report.

Fortifications include deep security perimeters, buildings reinforced beyond the usual standard, and five highly guarded entrances.

[citation needed] On October 5, 2007, the Associated Press reported the initial target completion date of September would not be met, and that it was unlikely any buildings would be occupied until 2008.

[23] The embassy formally opened over a year behind schedule in January 2009 with a staff of over 16,000 people, mostly contractors, but including 2,000 diplomats.

[25] The biggest program underway was the much-delayed sale of 18 Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters.