U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Iraq yesterday, a surprise trip that comes amid escalating tensions with Iran.
Pompeo abruptly cancelled talks in Germany and made a lengthy detour from a European tour to spend four hours in Iraq, where he met both President Barham Saleh and Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi.
"We talked to them about the importance of Iraq ensuring that it's able to adequately protect Americans in their country," Pompeo told reporters after the meetings.
"The reason we’re going is you’ve all seen the reports that there have been escalating — information that indicates that Iran is escalating their activity," the Secretary of State said, according to a readout released by the State Department.
In addition, Pompeo said he expressed U.S. support for Iraqi sovereignty.
