Secretary of State Pompeo told Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi “that peaceful public demonstrations are a fundamental element of all democracies, and emphasised that there is no place for violence in demonstrations, either by security forces or protestors”. Pompeo additionally “reaffirmed the U.S. enduring commitment to a strong, sovereign and prosperous Iraq, as outlined in our bilateral Strategic Framework Agreement”. He also called for “immediate steps to address the protestors’ grievances by enacting reforms and tackling corruption”.