Al-Zaidi’s regional tour comes off the back of a visit to Washington and a meeting with President Trump [Andrew Harnik/Getty Images]
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi will use a regional tour of Iran, Turkey, Syria and Saudi Arabia to reaffirm Baghdad’s policy of “neutrality” and deliver a message to Tehran that Iraq will not align itself with any regional bloc, a senior Iraqi official told The New Arab.
The diplomatic tour comes as the war between Iran and the United States continues to reshape regional alliances and place pressure on Iraq, which has sought to avoid being drawn into the conflict despite the influence of Iran-backed armed groups operating within its borders.
The tour will begin with a visit to Tehran at the end of the week, where al-Zaidi is expected to sign several memoranda of understanding covering areas of bilateral cooperation, Iraq’s foreign ministry announced on Sunday, according to the state-run Iraqi News Agency.
The prime minister will then travel to Turkey, Syria and Saudi Arabia, with the visits aimed at strengthening ties with neighbouring countries while reinforcing Iraq’s balanced foreign policy, the Iraqi official said.
Since the outbreak of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023, Iraq has repeatedly found itself caught up in regional confrontations involving Iran, the United States and Israel.
Iran-aligned factions within the Popular Mobilisation Forces (Hashd al-Shaabi) have launched rockets and drones at Israeli targets and US military bases in Iraq and elsewhere in the region over the past three years. Several of those groups have recently pledged to disband and integrate into Iraq’s state security forces.
A visit to Turkey is scheduled for early August and is expected to focus on Ankara’s military presence in northern Iraq, cooperation against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and water-sharing issues involving the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, according to Mukhtar al-Moussawi, a member of the Iraqi parliament’s Foreign Relations Committee.
The two sides are also expected to discuss the resumption of Iraqi oil exports through Turkey’s Ceyhan port, as well as broader cooperation on trade, energy, investment and infrastructure.
Preparations are also under way for visits to Saudi Arabia and Syria. While dates have yet to be confirmed, discussions are expected to focus on economic cooperation, security coordination and wider regional political issues.
Tour comes amid renewed efforts to fill vacant ministries
The regional tour follows renewed momentum within Iraq’s ruling coalition to fill nine vacant cabinet posts after al-Zaidi’s visit to Washington last week.
According to Iraqi sources who spoke to TNA, the Coordination Framework has intensified efforts to agree on appointments for the ministries of defence, interior, planning, higher education and scientific research, migration and displacement, construction and housing, youth and sports, labour and social affairs, and culture.
On Saturday, Coordination Framework member Uday Abdul Hadi announced a meeting aimed at resolving the vacancies, warning that the prolonged absence of ministers was placing increasing pressure on the functioning of the state.
Another Iraqi source told TNA that coalition leaders were also discussing the creation of new ministries or senior executive positions as part of efforts to balance competing interests within the alliance.
