Iraqi leader to meet with Michigan’s large Middle Eastern community to discuss escalating tensions

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI and TAREK HAMADA
Associated Press

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani is traveling to Michigan on Thursday to meet with the state’s large Iraqi community and update them on escalating tensions in the Middle East. The visit follows a meeting with President Joe Biden earlier this week to discuss economic relations between the U.S. and Iraq. The prime minister’s visit to Washington and Michigan had been planned well before Saturday’s drone and missile launches from Iran-backed groups but the weekend developments have put the visit in the spotlight as tensions in the region rise. Drone and missile launches overflew Iraqi airspace and others that were launched from Iraq by Iran-backed groups. The Iraqi prime minister will meet with local leaders and Iraqi community members just outside of Detroit