Iraqi PM, in phone call with Pompeo, urges ‘calm’ amid US-Iranian tensions

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi called for efforts to achieve “calm” amid escalating tensions between Tehran and Washington during a phone call with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday.

The pair discussed enhancing US-Iraqi relations and “exchanged views on developments in the region amid the current crisis between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran,” said a statement from Abdul Mahdi’s office, “as well as efforts to maintain security and stability and avoid an escalation.”

On Thursday, the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a press conference that the United States has assessed, based on intelligence, type of weapons used and sophistication of assaults, that Iran is responsible for the attacks on tankers in the Gulf of Oman.