US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo briefs Kurdistan PM Masrour Barzani on Iran strikes

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke to Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister, Masrour Barzani, over the phone on Wednesday “to update” the Kurdish leader on the Iran missile attacks in Iraq.

A statement the US State Department released said the two leaders discussed the Iranian ballistic missile attack on airbases in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.

“Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo briefed Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani by telephone today [Tuesday local time] to update him on the Iranian missile attacks on Iraqi Air Bases, including in Erbil,” the statement read.

“The Secretary and Prime Minister agreed to stay in close touch as the situation develops,” it concluded.

Iran launched over a dozen ballistic missiles at airbases in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region that house US and coalition forces on Wednesday.

Read More: Iran strikes military bases in Iraq, Kurdistan housing US forces: Pentagon

The military strikes landed at the Ain al-Assad airbase in western Iraq as well as near a base in the Kurdistan Region capital of Erbil, the Pentagon said in a statement.

According to Iraqi media reports, there were only Iraqi security causalities in the attack on Ain al-Assad. There were no casualties reported in Erbil.

“In my telephone call this morning with [Secretary Pompeo] this morning, we discussed the current developments in Iraq. I also suggested ways to de-escalate and contain the situation,” Prime Minister Barzani said in a tweet. 

In my telephone call this morning with @SecPompeo, we discussed the current developments in Iraq. I also suggested ways to de-escalate and contain the situation- mb

— Masrour Barzani (@masrour_barzani) January 8, 2020

The developments come after a US drone strike last week killed Qasim Soleimani, the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard’s Quds Force in Baghdad.