He dismissed concerns raised by American allies, who expressed fear of a wider war in the Middle East. A French minister suggested that “we are waking up in a more dangerous world” following the strike.
“Yeah, well, the French are just wrong about that,” Mr. Pompeo said. “The world is a much safer place today. And I can assure you Americans in the region are much safer today after the demise of Qassim Suleimani.”
Mr. Pompeo spoke on Friday to top officials in France, Britain, Germany, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and told his foreign counterparts that the United States was committed to protecting American interests abroad, according to State Department statements. In recent days, he also spoke with leaders of Israel and the United Arab Emirates, which like Saudi Arabia consider Iran an enemy.
A top Chinese Communist Party official, Yang Jiechi, told Mr. Pompeo in their telephone call that China, Iran’s most powerful partner, was “highly concerned” about the situation in the Middle East and that “differences should be resolved through dialogue,” Zhao Lijian, a Foreign Ministry official, wrote on Twitter. He added that Mr. Yang stressed that all parties, “especially U.S., should exercise restraint.”
Presidents Emmanuel Macron of France and Vladimir V. Putin of Russia spoke by telephone and agreed to try to “prevent a new and dangerous escalation of tensions,” according to a summary issued by Mr. Macron’s office. The French president also stressed the fight against the Islamic State should be a priority, as well as efforts to get Iran to return to compliance on the 2015 nuclear agreement, from which Mr. Trump withdrew but that Russia, China and three European nations still support.
The decision to hit General Suleimani complicates relations with Iraq’s government, which has tried to balance itself between the United States and Iran.
A senior Iraqi official said Friday that there was a good chance the Iraqi Parliament, which is being convened by the prime minister for an emergency session, would vote to force American troops to leave Iraq. Top Iraqi leaders earlier had wanted to accommodate the troop presence because of the persistent threat from the Islamic State and other regional security matters.