Iraq is growing increasingly concerned about the escalating tensions between the US and Iran and is trying to remain neutral, with the possibility to assume a mediating role between the two rivals.
A political source, who was well-informed of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s meetings with top Iraqi officials, told Asharq Al-Awsat that he underlined his country’s determination to put an end to Iran’s behavior in the region, but also showed some openness about the possibility to make Tehran understand Washington’s seriousness in this regard.
Pompeo had made a surprise visit to Iraq earlier this week to address Iran.
“Pompeo’s rhetoric, which combined the seriousness of the situation and the opening of prospects for conditional dialogue, encouraged Iraqi leaders to have frank and constructive discussions with him on several interlinked issues in the region,” the source added.
“Pompeo conveyed messages to the Iraqis - some of which appeared to be encrypted - to be delivered to the Iranians; but at the same time, he seemed keen not to implicate Iraq in sharp positions out of his knowledge of the specificity of the Iraqi situation,” he added.
Meanwhile, the leader of the National Wisdom Movement, Ammar al-Hakim, and former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki have both called on the Iraqi government to play a mediating role between the US and Iran.
“Iraq is located in the heart of the region and within the area of the conflict and therefore we must be serious in sparing Iraq any effects of a possible war,” Hakim said.
He urged the government to adopt the “policy of mediation” between the two sides in order to address the escalating crisis.
Maliki, for his part, called on all parties “to declare a unified position against policies that threaten the interests of the peoples of the region and the world.”
