• Analysis
US-Iran tensions 'cannot continue' in limbo, Iraqi FM Fuad Hussein warns
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said in an interview with FRANCE 24 that the 'no war and no peace' standoff between the US and Iran 'cannot continue' and must move either toward peace or toward war.
A standoff that must resolve
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein has warned that the US-Iran tensions locked in a "no war and no peace" state "cannot continue". Speaking in an interview with FRANCE 24, he said the standoff between Washington and Tehran "either goes towards peace or it goes towards war".
Iraq casts itself as mediator
Hussein argued that Iraq "has been included" in the war pitting Iran against the US and Israel, which makes mediation a duty for Baghdad. As part of that effort, Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi travelled to Tehran last week to meet Iran's top negotiator, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
Border crossings under US pressure
Washington has demanded that Iraq keep only two border crossings with Iran open. Baghdad has not implemented the demand and remains "in discussion" with US officials. Hussein said closing all but two crossings was "not possible" and, in his words, "will be a kind of sanction against the Iraqi people".
Oil exports and armed groups
Citing the oil minister, Hussein said Iraqi oil exports via a route near Oman in the Strait of Hormuz began about two months ago under US protection, and that volumes have risen from 2.2 to 3.2 million barrels a day.
On the domestic front, the prime minister is leading talks to bring armed groups' weapons under state control by June 2027.
- •Some armed groups have already accepted the prime minister's offer, Hussein said.
- •Talks on the border crossings are ongoing, with Baghdad still "in discussion" with US officials.
Hussein said he hopes all armed groups "will accept the offer of the prime minister".
