When U.S. President Joe Biden hosts the Iraqi prime minister on Monday, all eyes will be on Iran, which launched its historic first attack on Israel over the weekend.
The attack stoked fears of a broader regional war – a situation that effectively overshadowed an Oval Office meeting the leaders had planned, where they hoped to discuss a joint fight against Islamic State, economic issues and Iraq’s progress toward energy independence and modernization.
“The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the enduring strategic partnership between Iraq and the United States and discussed their vision for comprehensive bilateral cooperation under the 2008 U.S.-Iran Strategic Framework Agreement,” the two leaders said in a joint statement after Prime Minister Mohammed express. Shia Sultani meets with Biden.
White House officials, meanwhile, disputed reports that Iran issued explicit warnings before the attack. White House national security spokesman John Kirby called such reports “nonsense.”
“Can you imagine a world where Iran would pick up the phone and say, ‘Hey, we’re going to attack Israel with 300 cruise missiles and drones. We just wanted to let you know it’s coming. Oh, by the way, this is What we want to achieve.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “It just didn’t happen.”
He stressed that Israel’s response was “Israel’s decision” and “we will leave it entirely to them.”
While the United States says Iran’s airstrikes failed, Iraqi leaders acknowledge the conflict between Israel and Hamas as the region’s main concern.
“We are actually very eager to stop this war that has taken the lives of thousands of civilians, women and children,” Sultani said, sitting next to Biden in the Oval Office. “We encourage all efforts to prevent the expansion of conflict zones.”
After decades of U.S. military involvement in Iraq, relations between the two countries have become delicate. U.S. air defense assets in northern Iraq were used to shoot down some Iranian missiles.
Biden said Iraq, Iran’s long-time rival, had a role to play in keeping the peace.
“In short, our partnership is vital to our two countries, to the Middle East and, I believe, to the world,” he said.
Earlier on Monday, Sultani’s deputy met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, with both welcoming regional cooperation that thwarted the attack and urging de-escalation.
“I think this weekend showed that when Israel is the victim of aggression, of attack, it does not have to and does not have to defend itself alone,” Blinken said.
“For the next 36 hours, we have been coordinating a diplomatic response to prevent the situation from escalating.”
“We call on all parties to exercise restraint and respect the rules and international norms we have established,” said Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Mohammed Ali Tamim.
The two leaders announced a series of bilateral measures on Monday without directly mentioning Iran.
“The president and prime minister agreed on the importance of working together to promote regional stability and enhance and respect Iraq’s sovereignty, stability and security,” their joint statement said.
Other agreements focus on priorities outlined by the Biden administration ahead of the trip in March: energy independence, regional security and “a durable defeat of the Islamic State.”
But analysts say Baghdad should seize every diplomatic opportunity to pursue peace.
“Iraq needs to make clear its preference for less escalation,” Daniel Byman, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told VOA on Zoom. “This is both talking to the Iranians, but also talking to other Arab countries and the United States, which is negative from Iraq’s perspective and it wants all countries to act responsibly to try to reduce escalation.”
While Israel considers how to respond, regional actors are not sitting still. On Monday, the Iraqi president met with Jordanian King Abdullah II. According to the Jordanian royal family, they spoke of the danger of the conflict escalating further.
Follow us on Google news ,Twitter , and Join Whatsapp Group of thelocalreport.in
