Baghdad: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has made an unannounced visit to Iraq after abruptly cancelling a planned trip to Germany amid escalating tensions with Iran. The top US diplomat met Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abd al-Mahdi, President Barham Salih and other officials while on the ground in the Iraqi capital in a roughly four-hour visit on Tuesday, according to the pool travelling with him.
Pompeo described his meetings as “productive” and said he spoke to the officials “about the importance of Iraq ensuring that it’s able to adequately protect Americans in their country”, CNN reported on Wednesday. “They both provided assurances that they understood that was their responsibility,” he said. Pompeo’s visit came days after a US aircraft carrier was deployed to the Middle East region, which officials said was in response to threats to American forces and its allies from Iran. (IANS)
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