Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made a surprise trip to Iraq on Tuesday amid increasing tensions with Iran.
Pompeo was scheduled to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas in Berlin Tuesday, but the meeting was postponed due to “pressing issues,” the State Department said.
“I wanted to go to Baghdad to speak with the leadership there, to assure them that we stood ready to continue to ensure that Iraq was a sovereign, independent nation,” Pompeo told reporters en route to Iraq.
The visit came as tensions escalate between the U.S. and Iran. The U.S. has said there are indications Iran is planning to retaliate for the Trump administration’s increasing of sanctions against the country.
