INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Iraq is trying to convince powerful armed factions in the country that have fought United States forces and fired rockets and drones at
Israel to lay down their weapons or join official security forces, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said.The push comes with a backdrop of
seismic shifts in the Middle East that have seen Iran&s armed allies in Gaza and Lebanon heavily degraded and Syria&s government overthrown
by rebels, Reuters reported.Iraq is trying to convince powerful armed factions in the country that have fought United States forces and
fired rockets and drones at Israel to lay down their weapons or join official security forces, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said.The push
comes with a backdrop of seismic shifts in the Middle East that have seen Iran&s armed allies in Gaza and Lebanon heavily degraded and
Syria&s government overthrown by rebels.The incoming United States Trump administration promises to pile more pressure on Tehran, which has
long backed a number of political parties and an array of armed factions in Iraq.Some Baghdad officials are concerned the status quo there
may be upended next, but Hussein played this down in an interview with Reuters during an official visit to London.We don''t think that Iraq
is the next,& Hussein said.The government was in talks to rein in the groups while continuing to walk the tightrope between its ties to both
Washington and Tehran, he said.Iraq&s balancing act has been tested by Iran-backed Iraqi armed groups& attacks on Israel and on United
States troops in the country they say are in solidarity with Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war.A promised Gaza ceasefire has the
government breathing a sight of relief, though uncertainty prevails over how the country may fare after Donald Trump becomes United States
president.During the last Trump presidency, relations grew tense as he ordered the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in
Baghdad in 2020, leading to an Iranian ballistic missile attack on an Iraqi base housing United States forces.We hope that we can continue
this good relationship with Washington,& Hussein said
&It is too early now to talk about which policy President Trump is going to follow for Iraq or Iran.With Iraq trying to chart a diplomatic
third-way, Hussein said Baghdad was ready to help diffuse tensions between Washington and Tehran if asked and noted previous mediation
between Saudi Arabia and Iran that paved the way for their normalization of relations in 2023.SYRIAArmed revolution in neighbouring Syria
has been viewed with concern.The Islamist rebels now in power in Damascus were among the Sunni Muslim militants that entered Shia-majority
Iraq from Syria after the 2003 United States -led invasion, fuelling years of sectarian war.Islamic State crossed the same way a decade
later and undertook bloody massacres before being beaten back by a United States -led international military coalition and Iraqi security
forces and Iran-aligned factions.Iraq will only be reassured about Syria when it sees an inclusive political process, Hussein said, adding
Baghdad would supply the country with grain and oil once it could be assured it would go to all Syrians.Baghdad was in talks with Syria&s
foreign minister over a visit to Iraq, he said.We are worried about the ISIS, so we are in contact with the Syrian side to talk about these
things, but at the end to have a stable Syria means to have the representative of all components in the political process.Baghdad and
Washington last year agreed to end the U.S-led coalition&s work by September 2026 and transition to bilateral military ties, but Hussein
said that the developments in Syria would have to be watched.In the first place, we are thinking about security of Iraq and stability in
If there will be a threat to our country, of course it will be a different story,& he said.But until this moment we don''t see a threat.The
post Iraq wants Iran-backed factions to lay down weapons, foreign minister says first appeared on Ariana News.
