Baghdad: Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi sought to reassure Saudi Arabia on Sunday that Iraq is not a “gateway for Iran” and will not take part in regional conflicts between the two countries.
“Iraq is not a gateway for Iran,” Al Abadi said in an interview with Iraqiya state TV.
“We do not want to enter into regional conflicts,” he said, adding that Baghdad did not want to be involved “if there are regional conflicts between Saudi Arabia and Iran”.
Ties between Baghdad and Riyadh have steadily improved since Al Abadi took office last year after reaching a low ebb under his predecessor Nouri Al Maliki, who accused Saudi Arabia of backing militants in Iraq while it criticised him as a sectarian figure.
Saudi Arabia has named an ambassador to Iraq and announced in January that it would reopen an embassy in the country for the first time in 25 years.
But Baghdad has much closer and longer-standing ties with neighbouring Iran, which is playing a major role in Iraq’s battle to regain swathes of territory from Daesh.
Tehran has provided weapons to Iraq, and Iran-backed militias that are among Baghdad’s most effective forces have close operational and ideological ties to Iran.
Qasim Sulaimani, Tehran’s top officer responsible for foreign operations, has along with other Iranians advised Iraqi forces on the ground during multiple operations.
Hadi Al Ameri, the commander of the powerful Badr militia, said earlier this year that Sulaimani “is here whenever we need him.”
A US-led coalition of dozens of countries is also aiding Iraq in its war against Daesh, carrying out air strikes against the militants and providing training and arms to Iraqi forces.
