Iraq's PM tells Trump Baghdad will not be launchpad for attacks on neighbours
Ali al-Zaidi’s call with the US president came as Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein warned Iraqi armed groups against joining any Iranian retaliation.
At a glance
- Iraqi PM Ali al-Zaidi told Trump by phone on Thursday that Iraq will not let its territory be used to attack neighbouring countries.
- Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein warned Iraqi armed groups against joining any Iranian retaliation, saying Iraq is not prepared for war.
- Iraq has lost over $60bn in oil revenues since the war began, with about 90% of exports normally using the Strait of Hormuz.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi told US President Donald Trump in a phone call on Thursday that Iraq will not allow its territory to be used as a launching point for attacks on neighbouring countries, according to al-Zaidi’s office.
The call came as Baghdad tries to keep Iraq out of a renewed conflict over Iran. Al-Zaidi’s office said the two leaders discussed the region’s changing situation, security developments and what might come next. The prime minister repeated Iraq’s call for state sovereignty to be respected and for diplomacy and dialogue to protect regional security, the office said.
Balancing US and Iranian interests Iraq borders Iran and has tried to balance US and Iranian interests since Trump launched the war on Iran in February. Since taking office in May, al-Zaidi has made the disarmament of all armed groups in Iraq a priority. That includes several powerful pro-Iran groups that carried out attacks in support of Iran across the region during the war.
Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told Dijlah TV on Thursday that the possibility of new US military strikes on Iran was “not a secret”. He warned Iraqi armed groups not to join any Iranian retaliation, saying that pushing Iraqi society into the war would lead to disaster. Hussein said Iraq was not prepared for war and that neither Iraqi society nor the armed forces were ready.
He said Iraq had become a battlefield after the US struck Iran, coming under attack from the US, Iran and armed groups inside the country. Hussein said Iraq is not part of any axis and does not want its territory turned into a battlefield. He described Iraq as having good relations with both the US and Iran and said Baghdad needed a clear policy of staying out of the war.
Economic cost The conflict has also hit Iraq’s finances. The country has lost more than $60bn in oil revenues since the war began, according to Al Jazeera. About 90 percent of Iraqi oil exports normally pass through the Strait of Hormuz, and those flows were largely cut off when Tehran closed the waterway. Oil provides about 90 percent of Iraq’s federal budget.
Iraq has since been one of the few countries granted an exemption by Iran to pass freely through the Strait of Hormuz.
Source: Al Jazeera.
Questions and answers
- What did Iraq's prime minister tell Donald Trump?
- Ali al-Zaidi said Iraq should not be used as a launching point for attacks on neighbouring countries and called for state sovereignty to be respected, his office said.
- Is Iraq part of the US-Iran war?
- Iraq says it is not part of any axis and does not want to be drawn into the war, though its foreign minister said the country has faced attacks from the US, Iran and armed groups.
- How has the war affected Iraq's oil revenues?
- Iraq has lost more than $60bn in oil revenues since the war began, and about 90% of its oil exports normally pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
