Iraqi leaders has warned of the risks of war during a visit by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, whose country is locked in a tense standoff with the United States. Zarif’s visit to neighbouring Iraq — which is caught in the middle of its two allies, the US and Iran — follows a decision by Washington to deploy 1,500 additional troops to the Middle East. “We are currently repelling all the efforts of war against Iran, whether economic or military,” Zarif said at a joint news conference with his Iraqi counterpart Mohammed Ali al-Hakim.