Washington moves to brief allies cautious after Baghdad strike

Bloomberg

The US moved quickly to brief governments abroad and seek support for its decision to kill the Iranian commander in charge of its elite Quds force, with Secretary of State Michael Pompeo calling counterparts in France, the UK, Russia and other major powers.
Foreign leaders largely reacted with caution to President Donald Trump’s decision to launch a strike that killed Qassem Soleimani, a key architect of Iran’s foreign and military policy in Iraq, Lebanon and Syria.
Western officials expressed concern about an escalation in violence between the US and Iran, as they assessed the fallout from the killing of Soleimani and called for restraint.
“The American action was a reaction to a whole series of military provocations which Iran is responsible for,” Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer said at a news conference in Berlin. “We are at a dangerous point of escalation. It’s now about contributing to a de-escalation with calm and restraint.”
That sentiment was echoed by British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, even as the US was sending more forces to the region to bolster defenses.
“We have always recognised the aggressive threat posed by the Iranian Quds force led by Qassem Soleimani,” Raab said.
“Following his death, we urge all parties to de-escalate.
Further conflict is in none of our interests.”
Soleimani, who led proxy militias that extended Iran’s power across the Middle East, was killed in a strike in Baghdad authorised by Trump, the Defense Department said in a statement.

Canada advises its citizens to leave Iraq if ‘safe to do so’
Bloomberg

Canada advised its citizens to leave Iraq by commercial means if it’s safe to do so given that there’s an “increased threat of terrorist attacks and attacks against Western interests.”
The Canadian government warned in a Twitter post that the security situation in Iraq could deteriorate after US President Donald Trump authorised an air strike in Baghdad which killed Qassem Soleimani, one of Iran’s most powerful generals.