Arab League summit opens in Baghdad with Gaza crisis as top priority
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Baghdad: Leaders from across the Arab world gathered in Baghdad on Saturday for the annual Arab League summit, with the war in Gaza dominating the agenda. The summit follows a March emergency meeting in Cairo, where Arab leaders backed a reconstruction plan for the Gaza Strip that opposes the displacement of its approximately two million residents.
The meeting comes amid renewed hostilities in Gaza, two months after Israel broke a ceasefire agreement reached with the Hamas militant group in January. In recent days, Israel has launched intensified military operations, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged a further escalation in the offensive to achieve what he calls the complete destruction of Hamas.
Overshadowing the Baghdad summit was the recent regional visit by United States President Donald Trump. Though his trip failed to produce the long-anticipated ceasefire agreement in Gaza, it made headlines after Trump met with Syria’s new President, Ahmad al-Sharaa — a former militant who once battled US forces in Iraq. During the meeting, Trump pledged to lift sanctions imposed on Syria, a move that raised eyebrows across the region.
President al-Sharaa was notably absent from the Baghdad summit, with Syria instead represented by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani. Al-Sharaa’s invitation to the summit had drawn resistance from Iraqi Shiite militias and political groups, who remain wary of his militant past as a Sunni insurgent. Once known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, al-Sharaa was part of al-Qaida-affiliated factions that fought US troops following the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq. He is still wanted in Iraq on terrorism charges.
Al-Sharaa’s role in Syria’s ongoing political shift is particularly sensitive for many in Iraq. During Syria’s civil conflict, which erupted in March 2011, numerous Iraqi Shiite militias supported former President Bashar Assad, a longtime ally of Iran. Al-Sharaa’s rise to power marks a sharp departure from that alignment, deepening regional political complexities.
Iraq, a country with strategic but often conflicting ties to both the United States and Iran, has sought to present itself as a mediator in the region. Ahead of the summit, Iranian Quds Force commander Esmail Ghaani visited Baghdad. According to a senior Iraqi political official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Ghaani conveyed Tehran’s support for ongoing Iranian-American nuclear negotiations and reiterated Iran’s demand for the lifting of crippling sanctions.
As regional tensions surge and diplomacy faces increasing challenges, the Baghdad summit takes place at a time of critical importance for the Middle East, with Gaza at its heart and the region’s future hanging in delicate balance.
With PTI inputs