US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pressed Iraq to crack down on Iranian-backed militias, seeing an opening after the downfall of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad put Tehran on the back foot, a US official said.
Blinken met Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in Baghdad on Friday as part of a last-minute regional tour after Islamist-led Syrian rebels ended a half-century of rule by the Assad clan, a major ally of Iran.
A US official said Blinken told Sudani that Iran was at its weakest in some time and that Iraq had an opportunity to reduce Tehran's influence.