BAGHDAD (Dispatches) – Iran’s top diplomat Hussein Amir-Abdollahian held talks with neighboring ally Iraq Wednesday to discuss stalled talks with Saudi Arabia to ease regional tensions, as well as on border security.
Amir-Abdollahian, speaking to reporters in Baghdad alongside his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein, said the Iraqi government is adamant that the country is not used as a launchpad for attacks on its neighbors.
The two ministers discussed security on their border, after Iran last year bombed terrorist groups sheltering in northern Iraq.
Iraq-based terrorist groups have been involved in carrying out attacks in Iran, and encouraging riots that erupted after the September 16 death in custody of 22-year-old woman Mahsa Amini.
Iraq later redeployed border guards to limit tensions.
“The Iraqi government has taken a series of measures to protect the frontier, and we agree that certain groups should not be allowed to cross this border,” Hussein said.
He also hailed the efforts “to strengthen talks and cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Iran”.
Iraq has taken a key role as a mediator between Iran and Saudi Arabia since 2021, after Riyadh broke off diplomatic relations in 2016, but efforts have been deadlocked for several months.
Since April 2021, Iraq has hosted a series of meetings between the two sides, but no talks have been publicly announced since April 2022.
“As part of the strengthening of cooperation with... the countries of the region, we welcome a resumption of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia,” he said.
Amir-Abdollahian also spoke to similar mediation efforts carried out between Iran and Egypt.
He also mentioned slow progress in talks in Vienna aimed at reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear accord. The United States unilaterally withdrew from the deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions, prompting Iran
to begin walking back on its commitments under the accord.
Negotiations to return to the deal started in 2021 but stalled last year.
Iran is ready “to take steps to conclude the negotiations... on the basis of previous discussions and respecting the red lines” defined by Tehran, Amir-Abdollahian said.
“But if the American side chooses another path... all options are on the table”, he added, without elaborating.
His Iraqi counterpart pleaded for a resumption of talks.
“It is important for Iraq that the Iranian and American parties reach an agreement”, Hussein said.
Amir-Abdollahian also welcomed Iraq’s return to its regional role.
“The regional role of Iraq is now more outstanding than ever,” he told reporters upon his arrival.
“My presence in Iraq coincides with the Conference of the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union in this country, which shows that Iraq has returned to its natural status,” he said.
“We feel satisfied and content with the fact that the friendly and brotherly country is now in its natural status in the region, given our special relationship with Iraq and the various issues that are on the agenda regarding bilateral relations.”
The top Iranian diplomat said his two-day visit to Iraq came at the invitation of Foreign Minister Hussein and was aimed at following up bilateral relations and finalizing the close Tehran-Baghdad consultations on important regional and international topics.
Amir-Abdollahian paid a visit to the site where Iran’s legendary anti-terror commander Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), were assassinated by the U.S. three years ago.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Iraqi foreign ministry said the two sides would hold “a discussion of bilateral relations at all levels and ways to introduce dialogue to enhance aspects of joint cooperation in a way that enhances the security and stability of the region and reflects positively on the two neighboring peoples.”
The Iranian foreign minister’s trip comes weeks after his Saudi counterpart paid a visit to Iraq, where he discussed the resumption of Tehran-Riyadh talks aimed at restoring their bilateral ties under the auspices of the Iraqi government.