Iraq to send delegations to US and Iran to 'halt tensions'

Iraq to send delegations to US and Iran to 'halt tensions'
Iraq is set to send delegations to Washington and Tehran in an attempt to ease tensions between the two rivals.
1 min read
21 May, 2019
PM Adel Abdul Mahdi said no Iraqi groups want a US-Iran war [Getty]
Iraqi delegations will travel to the US and Iran in an attempt to "halt tension" between the two rivals, Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said on Tuesday.

Abdul Mahdi said there were no Iraqi factions that were seeking a war between the two countries.

Rockets fired from inside Iraq landed less than half a mile away from the US embassy on Sunday in Baghdad's Green Zone. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, however, Washington believes that Shia militias with ties to Iran may have been behind the rockets.

Relations between Washington and Tehran plummeted a year ago when US President Donald Trump pulled out of a landmark 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and imposed tough sanctions.

Tensions rose further this month after Washington announced more economic measures against Tehran, then deployed a carrier group and B-52 bombers to the Gulf over alleged Iranian "threats".

The Trump administration last week ordered non-essential diplomatic staff out of Iraq, citing the danger posed by Iranian-backed Iraqi armed groups.

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