Successive Iraqi governments were never forced to make such a choice. There had been no direct military confrontations between the Gulf states and Iran, particularly as the Gulf countries adopted a policy of restraint and containment in response to Iranian aggression, seeking to avoid a direct conflict that could drag the entire region, including Iran itself, into a devastating war.
Amid these competing pressures, Iraq managed, even over the past two decades, to preserve at least a minimum level of its Arab ties, particularly with the Gulf states, while also maintaining its relationship with Iran, without having to choose between the two. At the same time, however, it allowed Iran to become the dominant force behind Iraqi decision making on matters such as government formation, electoral candidacies, and other sovereign domestic affairs. Those were internal issues, and Iraqis themselves were best placed to determine where their interests lay. That changed when Iran launched attacks against the Gulf states and used Iraqi territory as a launching pad, leaving Iraqi officials with little room to maneuver.
Iran sought to drive a wedge between the Gulf states through its attacks in an attempt to fracture their unity. Instead, it provoked every one of them, including those that had chosen neutrality and mediation, leaving itself without a single friend. Its proxies in Iraq are now launching drones toward Saudi Arabia, while the Houthis are doing the same from the south. For the Gulf states, the situation has become existential.
For the Iraqi government, the situation has become extremely delicate as attacks against fellow Arab states are being launched from Iraqi territory. Baghdad must adopt a firm stance against Iran's exploitation of its land after establishing an investigative committee into the drones launched from Iraqi territory. Since April 12, the attacks have continued unabated. They were repeated on May 20 and again on July 27. In each case, the Gulf states stated that the drones had originated from Iraqi territory. The matter is no longer one that can be ignored or overlooked, yet the investigative committees established by the Iraqi government have still not produced any findings after two months. Now the attacks have resumed once again, and Iraq remains the point of origin.
Iraqi officials must therefore define where the Republic of Iraq stands on this reckless course. Will they continue to submit to Iranian interference, or will they finally put an end to it?
Are we to wait until September for the government's pledge to confine all weapons to the authority of the Iraqi state to be fulfilled? Immediate action is imperative. This is a matter of Gulf and Arab national security.
Iran is violating Iraq's security while seeking to keep it in perpetual hostility with its Arab sphere, all in pursuit of Iranian interests and with no regard for Iraq's own national interest. What, then, will Iraq's decision be?
