BAGHDAD, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi on Tuesday said that Iraq will send delegations to the United States and Iran to ease the tension in the Middle East.
In his weekly press conference after the weekly cabinet meeting, Abdul Mahdi said that "Iraq has high-level contacts (with parties of dispute), and we are going to push for calm between Washington and Tehran, but it is not a mediation."
"U.S. and Iranian officials have assured us that they have no desire in fighting a war," Abdul Mahdi said.
On May 15, the U.S. State Department ordered the non-emergency U.S. employees working in both the embassy in Baghdad and the consulate in Erbil to leave Iraq, according to a U.S. embassy statement.
Earlier, the U.S. military said the U.S. forces were on high alert in Iraq and Syria over fears of "imminent threats" from Iran-backed forces in the region.
The U.S. measures came amid the tense situation in the region after U.S. President Donald Trump decided not to re-issue the sanctions waivers for major importers to continue buying Iran's oil when they expired in early May.
The United States has also increased its military buildup in the region recently by deploying an aircraft carrier, bombers and anti-missile systems there, citing a threat of Iranian attack.
