ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq has initiated talks with seven regional states bordering the Persian Gulf to “foster cooperation and regional security,” Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said on Tuesday, highlighting that the efforts do not aim at “working in isolation” from the West.
Hussein emphasized “the necessity of achieving economic integration among regional nations, drawing upon the European experience in building a common economic market,” he said in an event hosted by European Union diplomats in Baghdad as reported by the state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA).
Last week, the Iraqi top diplomat floated a new regional security formula that he labeled as “6+2” to encompass the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as well as Iraq and Iran. He underscored the importance of the new regional arrangement, stressing that Baghdad cannot “buy security from abroad” and that “internal security” would be best strengthened through “cooperation between the countries of the region.”
Reflecting on his previous statement, Hussein affirmed Tuesday “ongoing communications with several foreign ministers from the region to refine this concept and move it forward.”
“Iraq and the region face significant challenges. The shadow of war still looms over the area, which necessitates joint action to ensure regional security and achieve stability and peace,” he said.
The statement comes as the region’s security has come under strain due to the fluctuating tensions between the US and Iran since late February, when the US and Israel launched a military campaign against Iran. Although the direct confrontations stopped in April, tit-for-tat strikes have continued and the possibility of another full-scale war still looms at large.
GCC countries, alongside Jordan, have been repeatedly struck by Iran, which has accused them of hosting US bases. Furthermore, in-bound and out-bound vessels associated with Gulf countries in the Strait of Hormuz remain targets for Iranian projectiles.
The Washington Institute’s tracker on Sunday showed that at least 30 ships passing through the Strait, which has dominated the sluggish and uncertain US-Iranian negotiations, were struck since the beginning of October.
The Mecca Pact member meeting in Tehran
Hussein also lauded the Monday meeting between Iran and the Mecca Pact members - Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey.
Defense and intelligence officials met with Iranian officials in Tehran, as Iran stated its readiness to “support any understanding that leads to strengthening unity, cohesion, security, and development of the region.”
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia said it would back “mediation efforts” by Qatar and Pakistan to “de-escalate” tensions “between the parties to the current crisis” and fostering diplomatic solutions.
Hussein expressed hope for "positive outcomes that contribute to enhancing stability and cooperation among these nations."
The Tehran meeting took place amid looming threats of renewed confrontations between the US and Iran. US President Donald Trump said earlier that he considers executing “another little Operation Epic Fury [February operation]" if the talks with Tehran collapsed.
Pakistan brokered a ceasefire between Washington and Tehran in April and facilitated a landmark 14-point memorandum of understanding in June to extend the shaky truce and enable negotiations on stark issues, including the Strait of Hormuz. Both failed to establish a lasting peace.
Qatar has spearheaded diplomatic mediations since September, bringing the US and Iranian team to the negotiating table in New York on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly meeting.
Tehran has subsequently proposed what it framed as the “seven-day plan” to remove maritime restrictions in and around the Strait of Hormuz, while putting forward conditions that include ending the war, lifting the maritime blockade on Iran in place since mid-July, and releasing Iranian frozen funds.
US President Donald Trump told Rudaw late September that he rejected the proposal.
Furthermore, the Iraqi foreign minister stated that establishing a new regional security architecture “does not imply working in isolation from the United States or the European Union.”
"Iraq aspires to draw upon the European experience in establishing a common economic market, and to work toward economic integration among Iraq” and the regional countries, he added.
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