The latest health scare came weeks after it emerged that Austin, 70, had kept previous hospital stays secret and had not immediately informed US President Joe Biden of his cancer diagnosis, sparking criticism as the United States faces crises in the Middle East and Ukraine.
In Israel, Pentagon chief raises Iran, Ukraine concerns amid judicial reform stir
Austin's talks with his hosts were centred on the changing geopolitics of the region, which is currently roiled by rising threat from Iran and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Pentagon chief in Iraq, 20 years after US-led invasion toppled Saddam
Iraq has recently hosted a raft of foreign officials, including the Iranian, Russian and Saudi foreign ministers and UN chief Antonio Guterres. Since US-led coalition troops ousted Saddam's Sunni Arab-dominated regime, Iraq's Shiite majority has led Iraq under a confessional power-sharing system. Successive governments have forged close ties with Iraq's...
