A Saudi delegation met with Iraqi officials in Baghdad to discuss strenghtening security on the border and increasing intelligence sharing
A high-level Saudi security delegation has concluded closed-door talks with Iraqi officials in Baghdad focused on border security, intelligence-sharing and preventing drone attacks on Saudi targets launched from Iraqi territory.
The visit was the second by Saudi security officials to Iraq this month. Earlier in August, Saudi General Intelligence chief Khalid bin Ali al-Humaidan visited Baghdad and an Iraqi delegation later made a reciprocal trip to Riyadh.
The meetings come after a dramatic escalation in July, when Saudi and US airstrikes targeted Iran-aligned Iraqi armed groups following drone attacks on Saudi energy facilities that Riyadh said originated from Iraq, killing 20 fighters including five Iranian nationals.
Iraq’s Security Media Cell said the Saudi military and security delegation met Abdul Amir al-Shammari, director of the office of Iraq’s commander-in-chief, as well as National Intelligence Service chief Hamid al-Shatri and senior security and intelligence officials.
The discussions centred on strengthening controls along the shared frontier and increasing intelligence exchanges, the statement said, in a bid to raise the level of bilateral security cooperation.
A senior Iraqi security official told The New Arab that the meetings had been "successful" and had established direct channels for security coordination and information-sharing through a permanent joint committee.
The official said Iraq had made "significant progress" in recent weeks in securing the border and addressing Saudi security concerns along the frontier, under instructions from Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi to the defence and interior ministries.
Iraq and Saudi Arabia share a border stretching more than 800 kilometres, much of it open desert. Iraqi security analyst Ahmed al-Hamdani told The New Arab that direct cooperation was essential given the scale of the frontier and the wider regional climate.
He said the latest meeting, the third round of security talks between the two sides since the 29 July strikes, suggested Baghdad and Riyadh were seeking to avoid further military escalation and instead establish direct coordination mechanisms.
However, Hamdani said the success of Iraqi efforts to contain the crisis would depend on armed factions refraining from launching attacks on neighbouring countries from Iraqi territory.
Iraqi parliamentarian Yasser Watout, a member of the security and defence committee, previously told The New Arab that Baghdad was committed to balanced relations with neighbouring states and would not allow Iraqi territory or airspace to be used to attack another country.
At the same time, he said Iraq expected its sovereignty to be respected and wanted to prevent further attacks on its own territory. "The current phase requires moving from exchanging messages and accusations to practical security coordination," Watout said.
The talks also come as Baghdad faces mounting pressure to curb the autonomy of Iran-aligned armed factions. Iraq's government had previously tied efforts to bring all weapons under state control to 30 September - the date set for the end of the US-led coalition's mission, although a senior security official has since said the disarmament process would begin after that date.
A planned visit by Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi to Riyadh remains postponed, after it was due to take place on 30 July but was put off amid the escalation.
