Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Chia al-Soudani left Baghdad on Saturday for the United States. He will meet American President Joe Biden, in an explosive regional context fueled by the war in Gaza and tensions with Iran.
The trip also comes at a time when Iran has threatened to retaliate for a deadly attack on its consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus, blamed on Israel. Joe Biden must receive the head of the Iraqi government on April 15 – Monday – to discuss the strengthening of a “solid bilateral partnership” and the “evolution of the mission” of an international anti-jihadist coalition led by Washington and stationed in Iraq and Syria. “Our meeting with President Biden will address this regional situation and its escalation, as well as the role we have played together (...) to maintain calm, stop the war, and prevent the arena of "conflict does not widen in the region,” said Mr. Soudani in a televised address on Saturday.