Iraqi President Adil Abdul Mahdi indicated that his country would "very soon send delegations to Tehran and Washington to push for calm" amidst heightened U.S.-Iran tension, insisting that "we will not allow Iraq to be a war zone or a launchpad for a war against any state". A senior Iranian official subsequently indicated that "Iran and Iraq have close ties. We won't tell them not to send delegations. But we will listen to what they have to say and respond accordingly".