LONDON (Reuters) - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo surprised Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi during his recent undeclared visit to Baghdad and asked him to tell the Iranians that President Donald Trump was not enthusiastic about a war against them, Is to conclude a new nuclear agreement bearing its name.
In an article on the Middle East website, Hurst quoted a senior Iraqi official in Baghdad familiar with the details of the talks as saying that Abdul Mahdi had expected Pompeo to fire on Iran after reports that Washington had sent an aircraft carrier and bombers to the Gulf in a show of force .
He pointed out that Abdul Mahdi had expected Pompeo to demand the withdrawal of pro-Iranian militias that could attack US troops stationed in Iraq in time of war.
But he did not say so, and what Pompey said was quite different and his tone surprised the Iraqi prime minister, according to the source familiar with the meeting.
Pompeo asked Abdul Mahdi to convey a message to Iran that the United States was not enthusiastic about the war with it, and all Trump wanted was a new nuclear deal called his name.
Abdul-Mahdi replied to Pompeo that the Iranians were self-respecting people and would not reopen a new debate on the nuclear deal, but pointed out that it was possible to agree to add a protocol to the agreement. Pompeo reacted positively to the reference, describing it as a good idea.
Pompeo's tone was positive, in which he did not threaten Iran. The next day, Abdul Mahdi sent an envoy to Tehran to inform the officials there, "according to the same source.
At the same time, Trump said something similar in his speech that opened fire on former US Secretary of State John Kerry.
"He wants to be contacted by the Iranians," he said, adding that Kerry had told the Iranians that they should not contact him. "I think they should call, and if they do, we are ready to hold talks and make a fair deal with them," Trump said.
"We do not want to have nuclear weapons, and this is not a difficult demand, and we will help bring them back to normal, they are in a bad state now, I look forward to the day we can really help Iran, we do not look forward to hurting them."