US President Joe Biden spoke on Monday with Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and discussed ongoing efforts to prevent an expansion of the Gaza conflict
The telephone call came about ten days after the al-Aqsa Flood operation launched by al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military wing.
A White House statement said the two leaders discussed the importance of addressing the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza in coordination with the UN and regional partners.
Biden and Sudani also affirmed the importance of the bilateral partnership between Iraq and the United States as outlined in their Strategic Framework Agreement.
They committed to regular coordination between their teams to advance shared objectives and preserve regional stability over the coming weeks.
Biden, according to a responsible Iraqi official source, urged Sudani to play a role in calming the tensions surrounding the Gaza crisis that is open to all possibilities.
The Iraqi source told Asharq Al-Awsat that Biden was the one who initiated the contact with the PM, and he also asked Sudani to make exceptional efforts to contain the conflict to prevent it from turning into a wide-scale war.
The source added that the US President stressed the importance of Iraq playing this role at this sensitive stage.
Sudani's media office said the call asserted the importance of mobilizing efforts and joint work to support stability in the region, saying they discussed measures to boost the bilateral relationship between Iraq and the US.
The two sides stressed the importance of containing the conflict and preventing the expansion of the war that targets civilians and threatens regional and international peace and stability.
Sudani asserted that Iraq has maintained its unyielding stance in supporting the Palestinian cause, calling the recent escalation of violence the "natural result" of Israel's crimes and violations against Palestinian people that has been met by "international silence" for years.
According to a statement from his office, the PM also highlighted the need to open humanitarian corridors to deliver aid to the civilians in Gaza.
Last month, Biden sent an official invitation to Sudani to visit the US at the end of this year.
Political observers in Iraq had previously doubted the White House could extend an invitation to Sudani to visit Washington.
However, Biden's invitation to Sudani, conveyed to him in New York by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and the phone call regarding the Gaza events brought the issue of the Strategic Framework Agreement between Iraq and the US back to the forefront.
