The official Twitter account of the US Embassy in Baghdad dismissed reports regarding a meeting between the US special presidential envoy Brett McGurk and Iranian Quds Force’s Commander Qasem Soleimani to discuss prospects of forming a new government in Iraq.
“The embassy is aware of false media reports that special presidential envoy Brett McGurk and an Iranian general met to discuss forming a new Iraqi government. The reports are fake news. No such meeting ever happened,” wrote Charles Cole, US Embassy spokesman in Baghdad on Sunday, Mehr News Agency reported.
Earlier, Kuwait’s Al-Jarida newspaper quoted an unknown source claiming that President Donald Trump’s special envoy had met Soleimani in Baghdad.
The source claimed that the visit was arranged at the request of McGurk, and that the American side had denied any US role in torching the Iranian consulate in Basra.
According to the source McGurk reportedly told Soleimani that the two countries set aside their differences and cooperate to support the new government in Baghdad.
Iraq has been in political paralysis since the May 12 ballot that did not see any coalition winning an absolute majority in the parliament.
Basra has been at the epicenter of protests that broke out in July in the southern province before spreading to other parts of the country, AFP reported.
Anger in Basra flared earlier this month over a growing health crisis, after more than 30,000 people were hospitalised by pollution in the city’s water supply.
Protesters flooded the streets for five days, clashing with security forces and torching the provincial headquarters, the Iranian consulate and the offices of armed groups.
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