New York:US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stressed the importance of disarming factions in Iraq to avoid the country’s “Balkanization.”

According to National Iraqi News Agency, Rubio made these remarks during a press conference in New York. He highlighted the commitment of Iraq’s Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi to limit weapons possession to state control and expressed US support for achieving this goal.

Rubio also suggested that recent attacks on energy infrastructure in the Middle East might involve factions within Iraq, in addition to the Houthis.