Several powerful pro-Iran Iraqi politicians have in recent days voiced opposition to a potential visit by Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa to Iraq for the upcoming Arab League summit.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said earlier this week that Baghdad has invited al-Sharaa to attend the summit, scheduled to take place in the capital on May 17.
If he attends, it would mark al-Sharaa’s first official visit to Iraq as Syria’s leader. He was previously imprisoned in Iraq for years on charges of belonging to Al-Qaeda following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
The Shiite Dawa Party, led by former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, said Sunday it rejects Baghdad hosting anyone who has committed "crimes" against Iraqis.
Maliki is a key figure in Iraqi politics and a leading member of the Coordination Framework, the main pro-Iran coalition that holds a parliamentary majority and helped bring al-Sudani to power.
"It is essential that the judicial record... of anyone participating in the Arab summit at any level is free of charges and crimes," the Dawa Party added, without naming al-Sharaa directly.
Several Iraqi security sources told AFP that an old arrest warrant for al-Sharaa remains active from his time as a member of Al-Qaeda. However, authorities may choose not to enforce it, prioritizing stable relations with Syria’s new leadership to help maintain regional stability.
Earlier this week, al-Sudani met with al-Sharaa in Doha in a meeting facilitated by Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.
U.S.-sanctioned Qais al-Khazali, head of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq force — which is part of the Coordination Framework — warned on X (formerly Twitter) Saturday that a visit by al-Sharaa "could have consequences if the law were enforced and he got arrested" due to the outstanding warrant.
"It is too soon for al-Sharaa to visit Iraq," he said.
A spokesperson for Iraq’s powerful Kataeb Hezbollah faction, Abu Ali al-Askari, said Saturday that the Arab summit "would definitely not stop due to the absence of the convicted Abu Mohammed al-Jolani," using al-Sharaa’s former nom de guerre, which he abandoned after the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad.
Pro-Iran Kataeb Hezbollah previously fought in Syria alongside Assad's forces.
The ouster of Assad — a close ally of Baghdad — has complicated relations between the neighboring countries.
Iraq, a majority Shiite Muslim country, remains deeply scarred by decades of conflict following the U.S.-led invasion, which triggered sectarian violence and the rise of Sunni jihadist groups including Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
With AFP
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