John Kerry lobbies Iraq to block Iranian flights

John Kerry made an unannounced visit to Iraq at the weekend (AFP)

America’s new top diplomat, John Kerry, made an unannounced visit to Iraq at the weekend to lobby the country’s leadership to tackle Iranian flights over its territory, which the US believes are being used to ferry arms to the regime of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad.

Both Baghdad and Tehran maintain that the flights are carrying humanitarian supplies for the country.

“Anything that supports President Assad is problematic,” the US Secretary of State said following talks with the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki. Local officials deny that Iraqi airspace is being used to bolster the Assad regime.