Pompeo makes surprise visit to Iraq

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made a lightning visit to Baghdad on Tuesday to show U.S. support for the Iraqi government as Washington steps up warnings to Iran against any action against American interests in the Middle East.The unannounced trip began and ended after nightfall and under heavy security.

Pompeo’s visit came as the Trump administration is intensifying its pressure campaign against Iran. The U.S. said this week that it is rushing an aircraft carrier group to the Middle East to deter or respond to any Iranian attack. U.S. officials have said there are indications Iran is planning to retaliate for the Trump administration’s stepped-up sanctions on the country, although the threat information remains vague.

On the way to Baghdad on Tuesday, Pompeo told reporters he would meet with Iraq’s president and prime minister to show them what he said is U.S. support for “a sovereign, independent” Iraq, free from the influence of neighboring Iran. He said he would also discuss with them unfinished business deals that he said would allow Iraq to wean itself from dependence on Iranian energy.

Pompeo would not be specific about the more recent threat information involving Iran, but said he would make the point in his meetings in Baghdad that any attack by Iran or its proxies on American forces in Iraq would affect the Iraqi government too.