Iraq will host senior officials from neighbouring countries including regional arch-rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran on Saturday, as it carves out a role as a mediator in the deeply divided region.

The one-day summit will bring together parliament heads from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, and Kuwait, a parliamentary spokesman told AFP.

Iran, one of Iraq's closest allies but a fierce foe of Saudi Arabia, will be represented by a "senior official," the spokesman said.

The conference will be hosted by Iraq's youngest-ever speaker of parliament Mohammed al-Halbusi, 38, who said Friday Iraq was "honoured by the presence of its neighbours in Baghdad."

Hours earlier, he had welcomed Syria's parliament chief Hammudeh Sabbagh, who landed in the Iraqi capital on Thursday night with a large delegation.

Iraq has long been at the centre of a struggle for influence between regional and international powers, notably neighbouring Iran and the United States.

But more recently, Baghdad has sought to fashion itself as a mediator among rivals in the Middle East and beyond.

Iraqi premier Adel Abdel Mahdi recently returned from visits to both Riyadh and Tehran, who are at odds across the region and whose officials rarely attend the same events.

Turkey and Iran have also backed opposing sides in Syria's war, which since 2011 has isolated Damascus diplomatically.

As part of its new regional role, Baghdad has sought to bring Syria back into the Arab League.

Related Links
Iraq: The first technology war of the 21st century

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Torture ongoing in Iraq jail despite documentation, HRW says
Baghdad (AFP) April 18, 2019
Iraqi officers at a detention facility in the onetime jihadist stronghold of Mosul have continued to torture detainees despite rights defenders' efforts to intervene, Human Rights Watch said Thursday. HRW documented new torture allegations early this year at the Faisaliya prison in northern Iraq, around six months after publishing a report on what it said were "chilling" abuses there and in two nearby facilities. The rights group said it had reached out about last year's allegations to the Iraqi ... read more