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Iraq hosted a regional meeting on Saturday aimed at easing tensions in the Middle East, while emphasizing the new role of Arab countries as mediators.
Among the participants Enemies of Iran and Saudi Arabia, Its competition often occurs in Iraq and other countries, including Yemen and Lebanon.
Saudi Arabia said that its foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Falhan Al Saud, will be present on his behalf. Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amirabdorahian is also in the Iraqi capital.
“This summit marks the re-emergence of Iraq as a key participant in the region,” said Ihsan Shamari, political analyst in charge of the Iraqi Political Thought Center in Baghdad. “Allowing competitors to sit on the same table is an important step in this direction.”
Egyptian President Abdul Fatah Al-Sisi, Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Abdullah Gheit, Jordanian King Abdullah II, and French President Emmanuel Macron attended the meeting. .
France co-organized this meeting and is expected to discuss a potential Destructive regional water crisis, The war in Yemen, and the severe economic and political situation in Lebanon that led to the collapse of the country.
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani arrived in Baghdad to attend the summit and was greeted by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Kadimi at the airport. This is the first official visit by a Qatari leader to Iraq.
This meeting was al-Kadhimi’s opportunity to showcase his recent efforts to portray Iraq as a neutral mediator in the crisis in the region and to reconnect with the world after decades of conflict.
Sources close to al-Kadhimi said that Iraq seeks to play a “unifying role” in response to the crisis that has shaken the region.
Iraqi special forces are deployed in Baghdad, especially around the Green Zone, where there are foreign embassies and the seat of the Iraqi government.
The high-level summit held in Baghdad was a major push for Iraq and its top leaders, conveying the Arabs’ solidarity with the country, which has been increasingly drawn into Iran’s track in recent years.
In the past few decades, due to security issues in back-to-back wars and internal unrest, the country has been largely evaded by Arab leaders, and its airports have been frequently attacked by insurgents rockets.
Saudi Arabia relax?
Earlier this year, Iraq hosted several rounds of direct talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and middle-level officials discussed issues related to Yemen and Lebanon.After years of hostility often spread to neighboring countries and at least one Yemen war continues.
In view of the serious tensions, historical competition and continuous sporadic attacks on Saudi oil targets by the Yemeni Houthi rebels supported by Iran, the talks were of great significance, but they failed to achieve a breakthrough in the relationship.
However, there are rumors that Saudi Arabia may reopen its embassy in Tehran, which was looted and closed because of its anger. Execution of a famous Saudi Shia priest Early 2016.
Other Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates call on world powers to reach any nuclear agreement with Iran to resolve their ballistic missile programs and support for militias.
An Iraqi government official told the Associated Press that he expects Saudi and Iranian officials to hold talks on the sidelines of Saturday’s meeting. He said that the purpose of this is to allow opponents to sit at the same table and create a political atmosphere for resolving outstanding issues.
Iranian officials said that they are more concerned about the outcome of talks with Western powers in Vienna on Iran’s nuclear program and international sanctions.
“The meeting in Iraq… only focused on how Iraq and regional countries cooperate to help Iraq,” an Iranian official told Reuters before the Baghdad summit.
Energy trading
Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud Abdul Wahid reported in Baghdad that the outcome of the summit will depend on a “closed-door meeting” to be held later on Saturday.
“Stakeholders may sign an agreement or a memorandum of understanding today,” Abdul Wahid said.
“According to Prime Minister Mustafa Kadimi, Iraq hopes to strengthen relations with France, especially in the fields of energy, oil, electricity, infrastructure, etc.,” he added.
Macron described Saturday’s meeting as “historic” after meeting with Kadimi, demonstrating the restoration of stability in Iraq after the devastating war against the armed group ISIL.
at the same time, A subsidiary of ISIL Group, Islamic State in Khorasan Province, ISKP (ISIS-K), Alleged that there was a suicide bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan on Thursday, killing dozens of people, including 13 American soldiers.
Analysts said the attack renewed global concerns, as the armed group occupied large areas of Syria and Iraq before withdrawing from the two countries and reappeared in the area.
The explosion occurred in the last few days of the U.S.-led evacuation from Afghanistan after the Taliban took over by lightning.
A source close to Macron said: “These incidents show that it is more urgent than ever to support the political process in Iraq and involve its neighbors.”
“Solutions to security threats in the region, including Da’esh [ISIL], Depends on a stable, sovereign and prosperous Iraq. “
Ten years later 2003 U.S.-led invasion After overthrowing the former long-time ruler Saddam Hussein, ISIL announced in June 2014 that it would establish a so-called “caliphate” in the territories occupied by Syria and Iraq, defeating the ill-prepared state without fighting. The Iraqi army and occupied nearly a third of the country.
France is part of a coalition led by the United States, which aims to fight fighters from armed groups. Although Iraq announced that ISIL had been defeated on the territory in December 2017, it still kept latent cells and continued to claim bloody attacks.
one The deadliest was the explosion in July Attacked a crowded market in Baghdad, killing at least 30 people on the eve of an important Muslim holiday.
ISIL “strides forward”
According to Colin Clark, a senior researcher at the Sufan Center, ISIL “still receives tens of millions of dollars and may continue to rebuild its networks in Iraq and Syria.”
“[Its] The main goal at the moment is to keep its subsidiary company going until it can fully rebuild its core in the Levant,” Clark said.[ISIL] Sub-Saharan Africa and now Afghanistan’s affiliates will have the opportunity to make progress in the coming year. “
In July, President Joe Biden stated that US combat operations in Iraq will end this year, but US soldiers will continue to train, advise and support the country’s army to fight ISIL.
Washington currently has 2,500 soldiers deployed to Iraq.
Rasha al-Aqeedi, a senior analyst at the Newlines Institute of Strategy and Policy, said the coalition believes that Iraqi security personnel can prevent another ISIL attack.
“Maybe they are not ideal, but they are enough to make the United States leave this country, and I believe that Iraq will not live until 2014,” she said.
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