Saudi Arabia is seeking alliances that can cement its presence in Iraq through political, economic or social relations. The kingdom invited several Iraqi tribe sheikhs to meet with Salman there.
Salman al-Ansari, the head of the Saudi American Public Relation Affairs Committee in the United States, told Al-Monitor, “Iraq is a great country and should not be the backyard of the extremist Iranian state. Many regional and international variables are working toward cutting off Iran’s bloodstained hands.”
Ansari said the Iraqi-Saudi rapprochement is important for Arab security and that the coordination council would help both countries cooperate on several levels such as fighting terrorism and reconstruction.
Saudi Arabia will not have it easy in fighting Iran over influence in Iraq, as Iran has been cementing its influence in Iraq for 14 years and has been garnering political and popular support as well as creating armed groups under the pretext of sectarian rapprochement.
The spokesman for Asaib Ahl al-Haq, which is affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Units, Naim al-Aboudi, talked about the importance of Iraqi openness to its Arab surroundings. But Aboudi, who belongs to a political bloc that considers velayat-e faqih an authority, told Al-Monitor that the Iraqi government must not rush into opening up until Saudi Arabia proves its good intentions toward Iraq. He said, “Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries destabilized Iraq’s security and facilitated the entry of terrorists into the country.”
Iran’s allies in Iraq do not want their country to be part of the US-Arab axis. They want a balance in Iraq’s relations without having to join any axis. Aboudi said that Iraq is an axis in itself, drawing Arabs closer to Iran and Turkey.
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