The Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein on Sunday invited Gulf Co-operation Council member states and Iran to an eight-party meeting in Baghdad, focusing on regional security, de-escalation and economic co-operation.
The idea of a reconciliation summit between Gulf states and Iran has been floating since an agreement was reached between Washington and Tehran this month. But Gulf states, which were subjected to Iranian attacks during the war, remain wary of Iran.
The Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Baghdad hours after Iran launched attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain in response to US strikes on Iranian targets.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to reassure Gulf partners on Thursday that any agreement with Iran would take their interests into account, as he concluded a regional tour of the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait aimed at building support for the Trump administration's preliminary accord with Tehran.
Reports emerged this week that Saudi Arabia was preparing to host talks between Gulf states and Iran. However, Gulf diplomats, speaking to The National on condition of anonymity, said talk of such discussions is premature.
“We discussed the postwar period because this war in the region must end as the continuity of the war will lead to the destruction of the whole region and not a specific country,” Mr Hussein told reporters at a joint press conference.
“We believe that the region must protect itself and different frameworks can be drawn in this regard, including an eight-country meeting for the six Gulf States, Iran and Iraq,” Mr Hussein added. “Iraq is ready to host the representatives of these countries to discuss the security of the region, the protection of the region and to develop the economic relations,” he added.
During the war, Iraq faced condemnation after the UAE said an attack on its Barakah nuclear power plant had originated from Iraqi territory. Several other attacks on Gulf states are believed to have been launched from Iraq.
“We believe that the security of the region must be by the countries of the region,” he said, framing the proposal as part of Baghdad’s longer-term effort to act as a diplomatic bridge between rival Gulf states and Iran. Iraq has been subjected to intense US pressure in recent months to move away from Iran and to rein in its Iran-aligned armed groups.
For his part, Mr Araghchi welcomed the Iraqi proposal and said Iran was “fully prepared to co-operate with the Iraqi government to advance this initiative”.
“In this context, we welcome Mr Fuad Hussein’s proposal to start dialogue between the member states of the Gulf Co-operation Council, Iran and Iraq,” he said. “I believe that the time has come to form a regional framework to ensure the security of the Gulf with the participation of all countries in the region and without the presence or interference of extra-regional powers,” he added.
The Iranian diplomat said he and Mr Hussein had also discussed “the future of security in the region and the security structure of the Gulf”, and argued that the recent war in the region had delivered “important lessons for all countries in the region”.
The endorsement gives Baghdad political cover to pursue a format that has been discussed in Iraqi policy circles for years but has struggled to gain traction amid US-Iran tensions and periodic spikes in GCC-Iran rivalry. There have been no comments yet from the GCC countries on the proposal.
Mr Araghchi also met with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi. Discussions touched upon the US-Iran agreement and regional developments, a statement from the prime minister's office said.
He will also discuss the arrangements for the funeral procession of former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Baghdad, Najaf and Karbala, which is scheduled for early next month. Mr Khamenei was killed in US and Israel strikes in February that began the regional conflict.
Tension remains
The attacks came after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had warned on Thursday that only Iran-approved routes were valid for commercial shipping through the strait, in defiance of a UN-backed plan to establish a safe corridor that hugs the Omani coast.
Mr Araghchi said that Iran alone was responsible for enacting new arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz, and warned that any outside interference would increase regional tensions and delay the waterway's return to normal operations.
“Based on this memorandum and after the removal of obstacles, the Strait of Hormuz will return to its prewar capacity under Iran's exclusive management within 30 days, and the responsibility for implementing these arrangements lies solely with the Islamic republic,” he said.
Any attempts to establish alternative mechanisms for managing the vital waterway would delay its reopening and heighten instability, he warned.
“Any intervention or attempt to create parallel arrangements will only increase the complexity of the situation, increase tensions and delay the reopening of this vital waterway, as the accidents and clashes of the past two nights in the Strait of Hormuz show,” he said.
He added that the US must abide by the signed agreement with Iran and that “the war must end on all fronts, including the war that Israel is waging against Lebanon”.
