PM: Iraq to stay out of Iran-Saudi conflicts

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi sought to reassure Saudi Arabia on Sunday that Iraq is not a “gateway for Iran” and will not take part in regional conflicts between the two countries.

“Iraq is not a gateway for Iran,” Abadi said in an interview with Iraqiya state TV.

“We do not want to enter into regional conflicts, and if there are regional conflicts between Saudi Arabia and Iran,” Baghdad will not be involved, the premier said.

Iran -- which like Iraq is mostly Shiite Muslim -- and Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia are involved in political and military battles for influence in countries around the Middle East. Ties between Baghdad and Riyadh have steadily improved since Abadi took office last year after reaching a low ebb under his predecessor Nuri al-Maliki, who accused Saudi Arabia of backing militants in Iraq while it criticised him as sectarian. Saudi Arabia has named an ambassador to Iraq and announced in January that it would reopen an embassy in the country for the first time in 25 years.

But Baghdad has much closer and longer-standing ties with neighbouring Iran, which is playing a major role in Iraq’s battle to regain swathes of territory from the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group.