Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi is due to visit Saudi Arabia and Iran "in the next few hours", as part of efforts to mediate between the two countries, a cabinet source said Saturday.

Iraq has over the past year hosted five rounds of talks between the two regional rivals which have had no diplomatic ties since 2016.

After the last round of negotiations in April, Kadhemi said he believed that "reconciliation is near" between Riyadh and Tehran, a further reflection of shifting political alignments across the region.

"The official visit... comes in the context of the talks that Riyadh and Tehran recently held in Baghdad," the source within the prime minister's cabinet said in a statement.

He said those talks "represented a road map for mending relations and returning to the right course of strengthening bilateral relations" between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which support rival sides in conflict zones around the region.

The source added that the visits are "not related to internal Iraqi political affairs and the talks about the formation of the new government have nothing to do with the visit."

Months after parliamentary elections, Iraq still has not formed a new government.

Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and Shiite-majority Iran have had no diplomatic ties for six years, since Iranian protesters attacked Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran after the kingdom executed Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr.

Riyadh responded by cutting relations with Tehran.

In early March, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said his country and Iran were "neighbours forever", and that it was "better for both of us to work it out and to look for ways in which we can coexist".

Related Links
Iraq: The first technology war of the 21st century

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Former rights lawyer charged in UK over Iraq war claims
London (AFP) June 24, 2022
British investigators have accused a former human rights lawyer of fraud in relation to war crime claims against UK soldiers during the Iraq conflict, the National Crime Agency said Friday. British soldiers served alongside other countries' forces in the US-led invasion that began in 2003 and led to the fall of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Ex-lawyer Phil Shiner, 65, is facing fraud charges relating to legal aid claims made in 2007 and information provided to the Solicitors Regulation Authority ... read more