US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has spoken to Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Vice President Ayad Allawi amid public frustration with Washington’s interference in Baghdad’s affairs.

Iraq’s political parties are locked in talks to form a government following the May parliamentary elections which propelled anti-American blocs to victory much to Washington’s chagrin.

In a phone conversation with Abadi on Saturday, Pompeo “emphasized the importance of safeguarding Iraq’s sovereignty during this critical time,” according to US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert.

The top American diplomat also spoke with Allawi, a pro-Saudi figure, expressing Washington’s hope that the new Iraqi government “includes all communities and serves all of the Iraqi people.”

Pompeo also spoke with Brett McGurk, Washington’s envoy to the US-led coalition, and took to Twitter to say, “Doing a great job. Forming a strong Iraqi government on national basis is essential to the enduring defeat of #ISIL (Daesh).”

The remarks came one day after hundreds of Iraqis held a protest in the capital, Baghdad, to vent their anger at the US meddling in their country’s domestic affairs.