US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived on Sunday for a surprise visit to Iraq after a previous visit to the West Bank and a brief stop in Cyprus.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani met with Blinken, the prime minister’s office said, Agence France-Presse reported, citing News.ro.

In Iraq, speaking about his ongoing efforts to suspend humanitarian aid to allow more aid to be flown into Gaza and more civilians to leave, Blinken said Middle East leaders he spoke with during his tour welcomed the idea.

“I think everyone will appreciate the humanitarian breaks, there’s no doubt about that,” he said, according to the BBC.

Blinken also spoke about US efforts to prevent the war from spreading to other parts of the Middle East, amid concerns that other regional players could be involved. “This is a very important and urgent work of American diplomacy,” he said.

Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7, several missile and drone attacks have targeted US military bases in Iraq.

There are currently about 2,500 American troops in Iraq.

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