Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid has publicly expressed his belief that Washington genuinely wants a diplomatic resolution to its conflict with Tehran. Iraq shares a long border with Iran, hosts US military personnel, and has watched airstrikes land on its own soil during the course of this conflict. In mid-June 2026, US and Iranian negotiators reached what has been called the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, signed remotely around June 17. President Trump has indicated openness to continued diplomacy but warned that airstrikes could resume depending on how conditions develop.
Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein confirmed that Prime Minister Mohammed Ali Al-Zaidi is scheduled to travel to both the US and Iran in July 2026, with the explicit goal of bridging the remaining gaps between the two parties. President Rashid has framed this mediatory role as consistent with Iraq’s long-term strategic interest, stating that strong bilateral relationships with Iran and the broader neighborhood are essential to Iraq’s own stability and economic future.
The Iraqi government has formally condemned US and Saudi airstrikes targeting Iran-backed paramilitaries operating within Iraq’s borders. Those strikes killed at least 20 people, and Baghdad’s response was pointed: it characterized the attacks as violations of Iraqi sovereignty, regardless of the intended targets. Iraq and Iran share a border, a majority Shia population, and decades of complicated history that includes a brutal eight-year war in the 1980s, followed by a period of growing Iranian influence in Iraqi politics after the 2003 US invasion. The Islamabad MoU is a starting point, not a settlement, with implementation of its terms still being negotiated. Prime Minister Al-Zaidi’s planned visits to Washington and Tehran in July represent substantive missions aimed at keeping the MoU process alive and moving.
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