U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned the killing in Baghdad of Hisham al-Hashimi, whom Pompeo described as “a patriot, prominent scholar and journalist” who “devoted his life to a free and sovereign Iraq”. Pompeo asserted that “in the days leading up to his death, he was repeatedly threatened by Iran-backed armed groups”, and urged the Iraqi government “to bring to justice the perpetrators of this terrible crime”. The Iranian government had, via its embassy in Baghdad, “strongly condemn[ed]” al-Hashemi’s killing on 6 July.