TEHRAN: Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian left for Iraq Friday to participate in a regional summit, the ministry said.
Foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh announced the departure to the “meeting to support Iraq” in a short statement.
The Islamic republic’s new President Ebrahim Raisi has also been invited to the Baghdad summit, but it is not clear if he will attend.
The Saturday meeting seeks to give Iraq a “unifying role” to tackle the crises shaking the region, according to sources close to Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhemi.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II have said they will attend, as has French President Emmanuel Macron, the only official expected from outside the region.
Leaders from Saudi Arabia and Turkey have also been invited.
Iraq is seeking to establish itself as a mediator between Arab countries and Iran.
Baghdad has been brokering talks since April between regional heavyweights Riyadh and Tehran on mending ties severed in 2016.
Raisi, who took office last week, has said he sees “no obstacles” to restoring ties with Riyadh.
He has made improving relations with regional countries one of his priorities.
Iran Foreign Minister heads to Iraq regional summit
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Iran Foreign Minister heads to Iraq regional summit
- Iraq is seeking to establish itself as a mediator between Arab countries and Iran
Israel prevents Palestinian vice president from attending Christmas Eve Mass in Bethlehem
- It is uncertain who from the Palestinian Authority will attend the midnight Mass in Bethlehem, which will be held for the first time in two years
LONDON: Israeli authorities prevented Hussein Al-Sheikh, the vice president of the Palestinian Authority, from attending the Christmas Eve Mass at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem on Wednesday.
Forces prevented Al-Sheikh’s convoy from entering the city, believed to be the birthplace of Christ, located south of the occupied West Bank.
President Mahmoud Abbas assigned Al-Shiekh to represent him at the event and attend the Mass, according to Wafa news agency.
Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem were canceled for the past two years due to the alleged genocide in Gaza by Israel in October 2023. Manger Square instead featured a nativity scene of the infant Jesus surrounded by rubble and barbed wire, symbolizing the crisis in Gaza.
It is uncertain who from the PA will attend the midnight Mass in Bethlehem, which will be held for the first time in two years. The PA has limited autonomy in parts of the West Bank, including Bethlehem. Christians make up less than 2 percent of the territory’s approximately 3 million Palestinian residents.
