The official Iraqi position was incomprehensible to some extremist circles. Although it has condemned the execution of Nimr, Iraq also supported the Saudi position against Iran in the closing statement of the Arab League meeting on Jan. 10. This statement condemned the attack against the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and supported the Saudi position against Iran, demanding that Iran stop interfering in Saudi affairs.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s government seems to be trying to adopt a position neutral to the conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Iraq’s situation is currently complicated by the war against IS and the economic crisis caused by declining oil prices. Abadi seems to be looking to preserve any potential support in the fight against IS, which challenges the existence of the Iraqi state itself.
Abadi took office with a moderate and conciliatory stance compared with his predecessor, Nouri al-Maliki; this requires Abadi to take the middle ground in domestic and regional crises.
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani assumed a prominent role in the appointment of Abadi to his current post and supports the normalization of ties with Saudi Arabia. In his Jan. 2 statement on Nimr's execution, Sistani avoided escalation and fueling the sectarian conflict in the region.
The official political and religious positions in Iraq do not support a confrontation with Saudi Arabia, despite popular Shiite pressure to avoid normalizing ties.
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