UK foreign minister Raab spoke to Iraqi leaders to urge deescalation of tensions

British foreign minister Dominic Raab said on Sunday he had spoken to Iraq's prime minister and president to urge a deescalation of tensions in the region following the killing of a top Iranian military commander by the United States.

Raab, who described Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani as a "regional menace" and said he was sympathetic to the situation the United States found itself in, said he also planned to speak to Iran's foreign minister.

"There is a route through which allows Iran to come in from out of the international cold," he told Sky News. "We need to contain the nefarious actions of Iran but we also need to deescalate and stabilize the situation."