Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is busy marshalling support for the United States in the region as Iraq becomes ground zero in the escalating feud between Washington and Tehran. Iran-backed militias may have ended their siege on the US Embassy in Baghdad, but more trouble may yet lie ahead for the troubled US-Iraqi security partnership.

Why it matters: Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has agreed to hold a vote on expelling American forces from Iraq under a deal reached with the Kataib Hezbollah militia, a potentially contentious point as the United States seeks to continue its maximum pressure campaign against Iran and continue its campaign against the lingering Islamic State cells.

Pompeo spoke with Abdul Mahdi on Wednesday, stressing “Iraq’s obligation to prevent further attacks against our diplomatic mission,” echoing President Donald Trump’s message to him on Tuesday.

The secretary of state also called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to thank him for “Israel’s unwavering commitment to countering Iran’s malign regional influence” as well as Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to thank him for “Qatar’s solidarity in the face of Iran’s malign regional influence.”