Barack Obama said yesterday that he was “concerned” about whether Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi could hold on to power, and that additional financial aid for the country would depend on resolving its political crisis.
The US president also said it was possible the ceasefire in Syria could soon collapse and that a failure to reach a political settlement there could lead to fighting continuing for years.
Mr Obama was speaking at the end of a sometimes tense two-day trip to Saudi Arabia where he pledged to continue providing military support to Washington’s Gulf allies to defend themselves against Iran, but also encouraged them to engage diplomatically with Tehran.