Even as the death toll from recent protests rises, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi assured world and regional leaders that the situation in Iraq is under control. The government, he said, is committed to human rights and to protecting the protesters.
During a visit to Iraq, US Vice President Mike Pence said Nov. 23 that Abdul Mahdi “assured me that they were working to avoid violence or the kind of oppression we see taking place, even as we speak, in Iran.”