Iraq’s FM says external parties using Iraqi soil to attack neighbours

Iraq has evidence that external parties have been using its territory to launch attacks on neighbouring countries, its foreign minister told Al Jazeera in an exclusive interview on Saturday.

Baghdad is investigating attacks launched from Iraqi territory against Gulf states and is seeking to resolve disagreements with Saudi Arabia through dialogue, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said.

Saudi Arabia has accused Iran-aligned groups operating in Iraq of attacking its oil infrastructure. In September, Baghdad confirmed that drone attacks on the kingdom’s East-West pipeline originated from Iraqi territory.

Hussein told Al Jazeera that Baghdad was negotiating with Iran-aligned armed factions to bring their weapons under state control and the process must be pursued through dialogue rather than force.

He also said Iraq was in contact with Tehran regarding the issue of weapons held by Iraqi factions.

Iraq’s government had initially established a deadline for armed factions to bring their weapons under state control by September 30, when the US-led international coalition to combat ISIL (ISIS) was set to end their mandate and leave the country.

However, it pushed back the deadline to June 2027 after encountering resistance to the policy, despite long-standing pressure from the US to fulfil its disarmament pledge.

On Iraq’s balancing act between Tehran and Washington, Hussein confirmed that the US had formally requested the closure of all but two border crossings with Iran.

He added that while Iraq welcomed friendship and an alliance with Tehran, it rejected interference in its internal affairs.

The foreign minister also said that Iraq had lost about $60bn from the suspension of oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz, but that shipments have resumed after understandings were reached with Washington and Tehran.

On the issue of combatting ISIL after the coalition pullout, Hussein said that Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Turkiye have formed a committee to fight the group’s presence in Syria.

For Al Jazeera’s full interview with the Iraqi FM, tune in at 21:00 Doha time (18:00 GMT) on Sunday.