Aug 7 (Reuters) – Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi met Saudi general intelligence chief Khalid al-Humaidan on Friday to discuss coordination over regional security developments, the prime minister’s office said.
Zaidi said Iraq would not allow its territory to be used to launch attacks or activities targeting any other country. He reiterated Baghdad’s commitment to protecting its sovereignty and preventing regional escalation.
The meeting came amid heightened tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran-aligned Iraqi armed groups after Riyadh last month carried out strikes in Iraq with U.S. Central Command that it said targeted groups responsible for attacks on Saudi oil facilities, and warned this week of imminent attacks by Iraqi militias and Yemen’s Houthis.
Iran-aligned Iraqi armed groups had vowed to respond to the Saudi strikes, but the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella term for those factions, said on Friday it had postponed a response planned for the day following an appeal by Hadi al-Amiri, one of Iraq’s most powerful pro-Iranian figures, and positions taken by unnamed political leaders.
The group did not specify the nature of the planned response or identify its intended target.
(Reporting by Enas Alashray, Ahmed Tolba and Muayad Hameed; Editing by Alex Richardson and Sanjeev Miglani)
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