Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani held a phone call with Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi on Monday, Qatar's Amiri Diwan said in a statement.

They discussed the developments of events on the Iraqi scene and the efforts made to reduce tension to maintain the security and stability of Iraq and the entire region, the statement said.

The phone call came after the killing of a top Iranian military commander, Qassem Soleimani, in a U.S. drone strike on Friday at Baghdad airport that has sparked a major escalation of regional tensions.