Shafaq News / US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday that he has pledged to help the new Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kadhimi.

Great to speak today with new Iraqi PrimeMinister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. Now comes the urgent, hard work of implementing the reforms demanded by the Iraqi people. I pledged to help him deliver on his bold agenda for the sake of the Iraqi people.

— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) May 7, 2020

 “Great to speak today with new Iraqi PrimeMinister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. Now comes the urgent, hard work of implementing the reforms demanded by the Iraqi people. I pledged to help him deliver on his bold agenda for the sake of the Iraqi people. “Pompeo tweeted after a phone call with Al-Kadhimi,

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has previously welcomed the formation of a new government in Iraq headed by Mustafa al-Kahdiimi, the former head of the intelligence service, and extended the deadline granted to Baghdad from the sanctions imposed on Tehran, which allows it to continue importing gas and electricity from Iran.

The US State Department said in a statement that Pompeo congratulated Al-Kadhimi during a phone call on obtaining the confidence of Parliament and told him that, for a period of 120 days, the United States will not impose sanctions on Iraq for importing gas and electricity from the Islamic Republic.

The statement added that the US Secretary made it clear to the new Iraqi Prime Minister that this gesture aims to "show our desire to help provide the conditions for the success" of his government.

Pompeo discussed with Al-Kadhimi "ways to work together to provide the Iraqi people the prosperity and security they deserve."

Al-Kadhimi’s government won the confidence of Parliament overnight, as the former head of the intelligence service succeeded in the task before him, after two assigned prime ministers, Muhammad Tawfiq Allawi and Adnan al-Zurfi failed to form a government to succeed the government of Adel Abdul-Mahdi, who resigned last year under the pressure of mass popular demonstrations against corruption.

Washington imposed severe sanctions on the Iranian energy sector in 2018, and threatened to punish any country that deals with Tehran in this field, but it granted Baghdad a series of consecutive temporary exemptions, the last of which was last only 30 days.

The American exemption allowed Iraq to continue importing about 1,400 megawatts of electricity and 28 million cubic meters (988 million cubic feet) of gas from Iran.