ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A high-profile Iraqi security delegation arrived in Saudi Arabia on Thursday for key talks, Iraqi state media reported, with Saudi-funded outlets detailing that the delegation is led by Abdul-Amir al-Shammari, director of the office of Iraq's commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and includes Intelligence Service chief Hamid al-Shatri. The visit comes against the backdrop of drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities that Riyadh said originated from Iraq, a claim Baghdad has denied.
“The high-level Iraqi security delegation arrived today [Thursday] in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to discuss a number of security files and shared issues,” the state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported, adding that talks with the Saudi side would address “a number of security files of mutual interest, including the file of drones, as well as ways to enhance security coordination and cooperation between the two countries.”
In addition to Shammari and Shatri, the Iraqi delegation includes Deputy Intelligence Agency Chief Falah Shaghati, Air Defense Commander Muhannad al-Asadi, and Counter-Terrorism Service Chief Zaid Hoshi, the Saudi-funded Al Arabiya channel reported.
Arabiya noted that discussions would also include "the attacks that targeted the Kingdom."
The US and Saudi Arabia struck positions belonging to Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in Baghdad and five other provinces in late July, which the PMF said killed "at least 20" of its members and injured “32 others.”
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) then stated that the "precision strikes in Iraq" targeted "Iran-aligned terrorists that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) directed to attack U.S. forces and Saudi energy infrastructure."
The Saudi defense ministry, meanwhile, framed the targeting as part of its response to the "reprehensible drone attacks carried out against the Kingdom by Iran-backed militias in Iraq," emphasizing "the Kingdom's determination to deter the perpetrators and its right to respond."
The strikes came shortly after Riyadh said in late July that "air defenses intercepted and destroyed a number of drones... which attempted to target oil facilities in the Eastern Province," Saudi defense ministry spokesperson Major General Turki al-Malki said in a statement.
"These terrorist attempts originated from Iraqi territory and were carried out by terrorist militias affiliated with Iran," Malki said.
A day earlier, the Saudi defense ministry had issued a similarly worded statement about another incident in which Riyadh's defenses blocked a drone attack it claimed was also launched from Iraq against the Eastern Province.
Baghdad, however, was quick to respond to the Saudi claims, stating there is no evidence that the attempted drone attack targeting the Kingdom's oil facilities was launched from Iraq.
"Despite the absence of any evidence or proof to substantiate the Saudi claims regarding [drone] attacks against its territories originating from Iraq, technical committees were nonetheless formed by the commander-in-chief of the armed forces [Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi] to verify this matter," Sabah al-Numan, spokesperson for the Iraqi premier, said in a late-July interview with Rudaw.
He further noted that "communication was underway and there was a request from Iraq to form joint technical committees to investigate the facts regarding claims of attacks on Saudi territory originating from inside Iraq."
Importantly, the Iraqi delegation's visit to Saudi Arabia comes after Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi “postponed” a scheduled July 30 visit to Riyadh following joint US-Saudi airstrikes on PMF positions, Arabiya reported at the time.
However, the head of the Saudi General Intelligence Directorate, Khalid al-Humaidan, arrived in Baghdad on Friday and met with Zaidi, where he conveyed "a message from the Saudi leadership," the Iraqi premier's office said in a statement.
"The message included a renewed invitation for the prime minister to visit the capital, Riyadh, in addition to discussing ways to enhance joint coordination and cooperation regarding security developments in the region," the statement added.
Last updated at 2:25 pm
