Iraq is moving to “repair” relations with Gulf states following tension caused by the Iran war, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said on Monday, after hosting Jasem Al Budaiwi, the Gulf Co-operation Council's Secretary General, in Baghdad.
Iraq’s relations with the Gulf have come under pressure since Israel and the US began their war on Iran in February. Iran-aligned groups in Iraq launched drones and missiles at Gulf targets as well as Jordan.
“The relationship between Iraq and the Gulf countries is an important one,” Mr Hussein said at a joint briefing. “It was excellent, in fact, before the war on Iran.
“I acknowledge the current reality, the lived reality after the war. Some things happened that affected these relations, and we are in the process of repairing these relations,” he said.
The most serious incident during the Iran war was a drone strike on the UAE’s Barakah Nuclear Power Plant on May 17. The UAE said drones were detected coming from Iraq: two were intercepted and one hit an electrical generator near the site.
UAE officials called it “a dangerous escalation” and part of a pattern of attacks by Iran-backed groups. The Barakah plant, the Arab world’s only operational nuclear station, provides about a quarter of the UAE’s electricity.
Baghdad has denied allowing its territory to be used for attacks. The Ministerial Council for National Security has said “Iraqi territory and airspace must not be used to launch attacks against neighbouring countries”. Iraq also said it is “fully ready” to receive any evidence about the strikes.
Mr Hussein said Baghdad now wants to broaden co-operation and explain its new approach directly to Gulf capitals.
“There is co-operation between Iraq and the Gulf countries, but we need broader arenas for this co-operation and we need to repair some matters,” he said. He added that the Iraqi leadership is planning a Gulf tour to “explain the current reality, the new situation, and explain the new policy of this government”.
GCC chief Mr Al Budaiwi arrived in Baghdad as part of an official visit to Iraq on Tuesday. During his meeting with Mr Hussein, he spoke of “heinous aggressions on GCC states from Iran and its proxies in the region”.
“We affirmed the importance of prioritising dialogue and diplomacy, de-escalation and respecting the sovereignty of the states.”
The GCC is keen to enhance relations with Iraq “based on firm conviction that Iraq’s security and stability are a vital element of the security and stability of the region”, he said. “We need to reach real, genuine and tangible achievements in this relationship.”
Mr Al Budaiwi was in Bahrain last week for a US-GCC ministerial meeting co-chaired by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The Baghdad trip places him at the centre of Iraq’s latest diplomatic push to convene regional rivals for talks on security and de-escalation.
For his part, Mr Hussein on Sunday invited representatives of GCC member states and Iran to an eight-party meeting in Baghdad focused on “regional security, de-escalation and economic co-operation”.
“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,” he said at a press conference alongside his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi.
He 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.”
The proposal follows a framework agreement struck on June 17 between Washington and Tehran that triggered a 60-day negotiation period. Mr Araghchi visited Baghdad hours after Iran launched attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain in response to US strikes on Iranian targets.
During a recent interview with The National, Mr Al Budaiwi addressed the issue of attacks on Gulf states. “Proxies are the most important issue here. Iran’s continuous interference in Iraq, Yemen and others, Lebanon, has to be stopped. The biggest damage we received in the GCC countries … came from the militias in Iraq.”
He rejected Baghdad’s claim that there was “no evidence” the attacks had stemmed from Iraq, stating: “That’s not accurate. There is evidence.” He said the GCC had “provided co-ordinates, pictures and so on. No, it is from Iraq, unfortunately.”
