Iraq to host regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia at conference

Share:
 Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (April 18, 2019). Iraqi officials are doing their best to reduce tensions between Tehran and Riyadh.
Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (April 18, 2019). Iraqi officials are doing their best to reduce tensions between Tehran and Riyadh.

Iraq will host senior parliamentary officials from arch-rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran on Saturday as Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi seeks to bolster his country’s nascent role as a mediator in the region.

Delegations including the heads of parliament from Turkey, Kuwait, Syria and Jordan will also attend the one-day conference in the Iraqi capital to discuss regional security, diplomacy and economic issues.

Abdul Mahdi recently returned from visits to Iran and Saudi Arabia, both oil-super-powers that have long been vying for dominance in the Middle East. It is unusual for Saudi and Iranian officials to attend the same events.

The premier has said Iraq will maintain strong ties with Iran, but also with the United States and regional neighbors, many of which, like Saudi Arabia, consider Tehran a foe.

Abdul Mahdi met King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his visit to Riyadh, his first official trip to the kingdom since taking office six months ago.

Iraq and Saudi Arabia have been at loggerheads since the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990, but they have recently undertaken a diplomatic push to improve ties.

Abdul Mahdi’s visit to Riyadh came 10 days after he visited Iran. During his trip to Tehran, he met President Hassan Rouhani and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Many of Iraq’s leaders, from its Shi’ite majority, have close ties with Iran, the main Shi’ite power in the Middle East.

REUTERS

Share:

Comments

One response to “Iraq to host regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia at conference”

  1. Niemals Avatar

    The following act by Google https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8a6c283346e37c8bcb2904595737dca825e2a169c537eb7c05596b06c28ae9ba.jpg will not reduce tensions between Tehran and Riyadh.

    In November 2012, the Hong Kong-based AsiaSat took Iranian channels off air in East Asia, and in October 2012 Eutelsat and Intelsat stopped broadcasting several Iranian satellite channels.
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2cb87022190bf709ecc9f521f64d2313bdb049f483d069f2c7f66a1363a7f932.jpg
    In July 2013 Press TV and other Iranian channels were removed from several European (Astra) and American satellites (amongst others those of Eutelsat and Intelsat).

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *