Iraq found itself in front of a new reality in Syria after the fall of the regime of Bashar al -Assad, which the Iraqi powers controlled in Baghdad were involved in supporting for nearly 10 full years, in the face of the opposition, which was recently able to overthrow Assad and take over the management of Syria.
Iraq and Syria share more than 600 km from the border, and despite this, relations remained troubled by the conflict of interests, but the current reality and common challenges constitute a motive for both parties to try to coordinate again.
This was evident in sending the Iraqi government to the head of the intelligence service, Hamid Al -Shatri, to Damascus, about 3 weeks after the fall of the Assad regime, in an attempt to explore the means of cooperation in issues of common concern. However, so far, this visit has not followed any political meetings as expected.
During Al -Shatri’s visit to Damascus in late December 2024, in which he met Syrian President Ahmed Al -Shara, the discussion focused on the issue of border security, according to the Iraqi News Agency, without disclosing additional details.
Special Syrian sources confirmed to Al -Jazeera Net that Al -Shatri’s visit focused on explaining Iraq’s concerns about the Syrian side of the return of the Islamic State, and the need to control the borders due to the infiltration of elements of the organization’s cells to the heart of Iraq, and Al -Shatri also asked Sharia to cooperate in the failure of the turmoil to the Iraqi border areas that It is inhabited by clans with links with the Syrian side.
According to the sources, the Sharia, for his part, explained to Al -Shatri the concerns of Damascus about the activity of the Iraqi factions that operate outside the army institution, and spread on the Syrian -Iraqi border, and demanded that it be removed and the security forces and the official army took over the issue of border security and the Syrian side’s willingness to coordinate on this issue.
Turkish role to activate coordination
In the aftermath of the visit of Syrian President Ahmed Al -Sharaa to Ankara in early February, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan revealed the existence of initial cooperation between the ministries of defense and foreign affairs and intelligence agencies in Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Jordan with the aim of fighting the Islamic State in the region, and also announced the work of the first organization A meeting between the countries mentioned in Jordan, without specifying an accurate date.
Turkey, Iraq and Syria share concerns about the possibility of the escape of ISIS operatives detained by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Hasaka, especially in the Gouran prison, where Qasd waved every time it is exposed to Turkish military pressures for the possibility of the escape of prisoners, and therefore Turkey is repeatedly demanding the enabling of the Syrian administration The new from controlling prisons.
On the other hand, members of the Iraqi Council of Representatives, including a member of the Parliamentary Security and Defense Committee, MP Yasser Iskandar, revealed the existence of discussions between Iraq, Turkey and Syria on the idea of transferring the prisoners of the Islamic State in the Houl camp and the Ghwayran prison in the Syrian Hasaka Governorate to Iraq and tried them in accordance with Iraqi law.
In the event that Turkey is able to enhance security cooperation between Iraq and Syria, it will achieve additional gains that exceed the Islamic State, and is to restrict the transfer of the PKK elements from Iraq to the Syrian territories, as this issue is very important for the Turkish side and the new Syrian government, and it demands Ankara to remove the elements Foreign from Syria continuously.
Nuri al -Maliki:
Syria is currently under the Turkish and Israeli administration and is governed by terrorists who were in Iraq committing terrorist crimes, and some of them are prisons. Is it reasonable for terrorists to rule Syria? pic.twitter.com/tQ7ITeEQfn
– Nameer Al -Kawak (@nm_iq1) February 2, 2025
Variation on re -relationships
Despite the common threats and interests between Iraq and Syria, the issue of the return of relations between the two sides is unanimously within the Iraqi political forces controlling power.
The Al -Jazeera Net website learned from sources in the Iraqi government that the Prime Minister, Muhammad Shi’a Al -Sudani, has a tendency to develop relations with the Syrian side, and to raise them to the political and diplomatic level, and works to arrange a visit to the Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al -Shaibani to Baghdad, but some political forces affiliated The coordination framework close to Iran, led by the head of the State of Law coalition, Nuri al -Maliki, opposes the development of relations.
They see the need for relations with Syria to remain at the limits of security coordination, taking into account Iran’s interests, and not to show a decline in the situation in front of the Iraqi Sunni forces, which may be seen in the change in Syria an opportunity to rebel against the political system in Iraq.
At the beginning of February, Al -Maliki launched an attack on the new Syrian leadership, as he considered that it was unable to rule a diverse country like Syria, and accused it of cloning failed experiences, according to his description.
It is expected – according to Iraqi sources – differences will escalate in Iraqi political circles regarding the issue of the return of relations with Syria with the approaching date of the Arab summit that will be hosted by Baghdad in April, in light of the high tone of rejection to the Iraqi government’s call to the new Syrian leadership to attend the summit by the forces. Politics allied with Iran, including the Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, Mahmoud Al -Mashhadani, who is closely linked to the Iranian side.
Stay tuned for Trump’s policy
Iraqi sources confirm that the United States and before Donald Trump officially assumed the presidency, notified Iraq of the necessity of resolving the Iraqi popular crowd factions, especially those linked to Iran, and integrating it into official institutions or withdrawing its weapons.
In mid -January, Republican MP Joe Wilson fired threats against the Iraqi factions, and confirmed that Trump would deal with them in a special way, he said.
Gabriel Soma, a member of the US President’s Advisory Council, confirmed that the latter is in the process of putting an end to Iranian influence in the Middle East, noting that Trump’s advisers know Iraq as a “street street”, and that Trump really wants to deter Iraqi armed organizations.
In the event that the Trump administration has already exerted pressure on Iraq in order to resolve the unofficial Iraqi factions, or withdraw its weapons, this will lead to the liberation of the Iraqi government from the pressure of these factions and political forces allied with Iran that refuse to restore relations with Syria, and therefore relations between the two countries may witness development And not to remain only at the limits of security coordination, which is currently taking place by the Turkish side.
(Tagstotranslate) Politics (T) Syria (T) Arabic