Baghdad discusses outcomes of its Foreign Minister's visit to Tehran with Riyadh

Iraq said that its Foreign Minister, Fuad Hussein, discussed with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, the outcomes of his recent visit to Iran.

The spokesman for the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, Ahmed Al-Sahaf, said in a statement yesterday, Tuesday, that the two sides “discussed the outcomes of Fouad Hussein’s visit to Tehran, and the positive effects it reflects on the bilateral relations between Riyadh and Tehran,” according to reports by the Iraqi News Agency.

Iranian President, Ibrahim Raisi, had said that rebuilding and strengthening his country’s relations with Saudi Arabia “serves the security of the region.”

He added that the five rounds of dialogue between the two countries, mediated by Iraq, “were useful,” stressing that “with the completion of the implementation of previous agreements, the way will be paved for enhancing interaction between the two sides.”

This statement was made during his meeting in Tehran with the Iraqi Foreign Minister on Tuesday, where he praised the Iraqi government’s consultations on regional affairs, noting that “Iraq’s initiatives and measures to improve the sense of cooperation among the countries of the region without foreign interference will be influential in strengthening regional solidarity.”

On his part, the Iraqi Foreign Minister affirmed that his country’s government “continues to play a role in improving relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and “made a detailed offer in this regard,” according to the Iranian news agency, IRNA.

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Baghdad has hosted direct negotiations between Saudi Arabia and Iran since April 2021, but it has not achieved substantial progress on the ground. The fifth round of these negotiations took place last March, and achieved positive results.

The past few weeks have witnessed diplomatic language closer to reconciliation on the part of Iranian officials with Saudi Arabia.

Tehran accepted Riyadh’s request for a direct meeting and, on 23 July, 2022, the Iraqi Foreign Minister announced his country’s intention to host a public meeting between the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Iran soon.

Diplomatic relations were severed between the two sides, in early January 2016, after protesters stormed the Saudi consulate in Iran.