Iraqi-Iranian Agreement on ‘Achieving Stability in the Middle East’

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi shakes hands with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi during a welcoming ceremony in Tehran, Iran, June 26, 2022. President Website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi shakes hands with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi during a welcoming ceremony in Tehran, Iran, June 26, 2022. President Website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
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Iraqi-Iranian Agreement on ‘Achieving Stability in the Middle East’

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi shakes hands with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi during a welcoming ceremony in Tehran, Iran, June 26, 2022. President Website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi shakes hands with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi during a welcoming ceremony in Tehran, Iran, June 26, 2022. President Website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi met with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran on Sunday.

“We have agreed to work together to bring stability and calm to the region,” Kadhimi said in a joint televised news conference with Raisi.

“Dialogue with regional officials can resolve the regional issues without foreign intervention,” Raisi said.

Kadhimi arrived in Tehran after visiting Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah to discuss regional and bilateral issues. The premier is being accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising political and economic officials.

According to a statement carried by the Iraq News Agency (INA), the meeting reiterated commitment to supporting the armistice in Yemen and reinforcing peace efforts there. It also affirmed that a peace solution for the Yemeni crisis must stem from the internal will of Yemenis.

“We also agreed to make joint efforts to meet the challenges of food security posed by the Ukraine war,” said Raisi, according to Iran’s presidential website.

“Good bilateral and regional relations between Iraq and Iran can be very effective in role-playing of the two countries in the region and international issues,” added the president.

Raisi stressed the need to resolve the problems of the Yemeni people as soon as possible and establish a ceasefire in the country.

“Lifting the siege of Yemen and the Yemenis, and the Yemeni-Yemeni dialogue can solve the problems of this country and end the suffering of Yemeni people,” said Raisi.

“Without a doubt, the continuation of this war is fruitless and will not result in anything but the suffering of the Yemeni people, so this war must be ended as soon as possible and the ceasefire can be a step towards resolving the issues,” he added.

“Iran and Iraq emphasize the need for peace and stability in the region and we believe that peace in the region happens through the role-playing of the officials of all countries in the region and the presence of foreigners in the region will not solve any problem, but instead will add to the problems,” warned Raisi.



Maldives Ban Israelis to Protest Gaza War 

The Maldives had lifted a previous ban on Israeli tourists in the early 1990s and briefly moved to restore relations in 2010. (Getty Images/AFP)
The Maldives had lifted a previous ban on Israeli tourists in the early 1990s and briefly moved to restore relations in 2010. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Maldives Ban Israelis to Protest Gaza War 

The Maldives had lifted a previous ban on Israeli tourists in the early 1990s and briefly moved to restore relations in 2010. (Getty Images/AFP)
The Maldives had lifted a previous ban on Israeli tourists in the early 1990s and briefly moved to restore relations in 2010. (Getty Images/AFP)

The Maldives announced Tuesday it was banning the entry of Israelis from the luxury tourist archipelago in "resolute solidarity" with the Palestinian people.

President Mohamed Muizzu ratified the legislation shortly after it was approved by parliament on Tuesday.

"The ratification reflects the government's firm stance in response to the continuing atrocities and ongoing acts of genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian people," his office said in a statement.

"The Maldives reaffirms its resolute solidarity with the Palestinian cause."

The ban will be implemented with immediate effect, a spokesman for Muizzu's office told AFP.

The Maldives, a small Islamic republic of 1,192 strategically located coral islets, is known for its secluded white sandy beaches, shallow turquoise lagoons and Robinson Crusoe-style getaways.

Official data showed that only 59 Israeli tourists visited the archipelago in February, among 214,000 other foreign arrivals.

The Maldives had lifted a previous ban on Israeli tourists in the early 1990s and briefly moved to restore relations in 2010.

Opposition parties and government allies in the Maldives have been pressuring Muizzu to ban Israelis as a statement of opposition to the Gaza war.

Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged its citizens last year to avoid travelling to the Maldives.

The Gaza war broke out after Palestinian group Hamas' October 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Gaza's health ministry said on Sunday that at least 1,613 Palestinians had been killed since March 18, when a ceasefire collapsed, taking the overall death toll since the war began to 50,983.