President Joe Biden will host Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Chia al-Soudani on April 15th for an official visit to Washington to discuss, among other things, the future of the international anti-jihadist coalition.
Mohamed Chia al-Soudani © RTA
President Joe Biden will host Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Chia al-Soudani on April 15th for an official visit to Washington to discuss, among other things, the future of the international anti-jihadist coalition.
Mr. Soudani's visit comes after several tensions between Washington and Baghdad, which now calls for an end to the mission of the international coalition set up by the United States to combat the Islamic State (IS) group.
Since mid-October, amid the conflict in Gaza between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas, pro-Iranian armed groups have carried out dozens of attacks against US troops deployed in the Middle East with the coalition. In retaliation, Washington has conducted several strikes against these factions, killing a senior commander of a pro-Iranian group in Baghdad in early February.
The American president and his guest intend to "coordinate on common priority subjects and strengthen the solid bilateral partnership" between the two countries, said US executive spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre in a statement.
Among the topics on the agenda, "our joint commitment to seal the defeat of the Islamic State group and the evolution of the military mission nearly 10 years after the formation of the international coalition" aimed at combating the jihadist organization, she added.
The two leaders will also discuss the strategic partnership between Iraq and the United States, as well as financial reforms, economic development, and modernization of the country's energy infrastructure.
About 900 US soldiers are deployed in Syria and 2,500 in neighboring Iraq as part of the international coalition created in 2014 by the Americans to combat IS.
Iran, a leading trading partner for Iraq, wields significant political influence in Baghdad. Its Iraqi allies, powerful parties and former paramilitaries now integrated into regular forces, dominate Parliament and have appointed the current government.
Iran said on Sunday that a deal with Oman defining new shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz was in its final stages but reiterated that the waterway would only reopen once the United States met other conditions.
US Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and James Lankford (R-OK) introduced legislation Thursday that would authorize up to $1.2 billion in security assistance to Lebanon over five years, with part of the funding conditioned on Beirut's progress toward a state monopoly on arms and the disarmament of Hezbollah.
Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis launched ballistic missiles and drones at displacement camps and residential neighbourhoods in the city of Marib on Friday, killing two people and wounding 14, state news agency SABA reported, citing local authorities.
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