What are the messages coinciding with McGurk and Qaani's visit to Baghdad? Observers speak to Al Jazeera Net

Baghdad

- The successive visits that Baghdad witnessed last week, the American-Iranian visits may be considered the first of their kind since the formation of the government of Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani, especially since they came simultaneously in place and time, in light of the conditions Iraq is witnessing, not the least of which is the crisis of the decline in the exchange rate of the Iraqi dinar Against the dollar, after a series of US banking measures towards Baghdad, to reduce what Washington described as "money smuggling and laundering."

Last week, Baghdad witnessed the visit of the White House coordinator for Middle East affairs, Brett McGurk, as well as the visit of the head of the Quds Force in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Ismail Qaani, where the two sides met Iraqi officials without the official authorities explaining the truth of what happened behind closed doors.

During his visit to Baghdad, Qani met a number of Iraqi officials (Reuters)

American visit

According to the statement of the US Embassy in Baghdad, McGurk met with Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani, who was accompanied by the Special Presidential Coordinator for Global Infrastructure and Energy Security Amos Hochstein, in addition to the US Ambassador to Iraq, Alina Romanowski.

And the statement said that the US delegation affirmed - during the meeting - US President Joe Biden's commitment to the strategic framework agreement with Baghdad and a special interest in coordination and work to support the Iraqi government's reforms in the fields of energy, infrastructure and climate, for the benefit of the Iraqi people.

McGurk also affirmed the United States' continued commitment to providing advice, empowerment, and assistance to the Iraqi security forces in their fight against the "Islamic State" organization, and to ensure that the organization does not re-emerge again in Iraq and Syria, according to the statement.

It is scheduled that Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein will visit Washington in early February to co-chair the Supreme Coordinating Committee of the Strategic Framework Agreement with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, in preparation for the visit of the Iraqi Prime Minister to the United States, which political circles say is close.

Al-Musawi: Iraq is keen to develop its relations with America and European countries (Al-Jazeera Net)

Diversify relationships

Regarding the goals and synchronization of the visit of the American and Iranian delegations, Hamid al-Moussawi - a member of the State Administration Coalition that formed the Sudanese government - says that Iraq is keen to cooperate with America, European countries and various countries of the world, noting that McGurk's visit is the first visit of a senior American official to Iraq since the Sudanese took office. .

In his interview with Al-Jazeera Net, Al-Moussawi commented, "The meeting between Al-Sudani and McGurk discussed the presence of foreign forces, their withdrawal from Iraq, and contentment with contracting with advisors from all countries, not just from America, as well as discussing the American presence in Syria, and the Iraqi role in converging views between Saudi Arabia." And Iran," pointing out that the discussions included energy files and the presence of American companies operating in Iraqi oil fields.

Regarding the coincidence of McGurk's visit with Qaani's visit, Al-Moussawi - who occupies a leadership position in the Badr Organization headed by Hadi al-Amiri - made it clear that the presence of Qaani and McGurk in Baghdad does not include the presence of a direct or indirect Iranian-American dialogue, stressing that the Iraqi government obtained an exception for the import of gas and electricity. From Iran, and that Baghdad paid the cost of gas through the Iraqi Trade Bank, according to al-Moussawi.

He concluded that the Iraqi foreign minister will visit Washington in order to arrange a meeting between al-Sudani and Biden, especially since the Iraqi prime minister obtained authorization from the political blocs to negotiate with America on the issue of the dollar, the presence of foreign forces, and activating the economic aspect, according to al-Moussawi.

Ayat: Al-Sudani is working not to anger Washington, as Iraq still needs help (communication sites)

The international and regional dimension

On the other hand, the spokeswoman for the Victory Coalition, Ayat Muzaffar Nuri, believes that the issue of forming a framework government, most of whose political forces are against and opposed to the Western presence in Iraq, specifically the American one, is problematic with an international and regional dimension, and she adds by saying, "Therefore, the United States believes that the government should clarify the nature of this framed relationship." By a bilateral agreement concluded during the era of former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

In her interview with Al-Jazeera Net, she added that, in exchange for that view, Al-Sudani is working on a policy of not provoking the West for several reasons, including that Iraq still needs international support in many files, most notably security and economic.

With regard to what happened behind the scenes of the Sudanese and McGurk meeting, the spokeswoman for the Victory Coalition says, "The two parties need disclosure, frankness, and confidence-building. The dollar crisis has two dimensions: internal represented by paths adopted by the government and the central bank, and external related to global banking transactions and the fusion of Iraq into the network of international transactions." Safe and reliable, which is a transitional stage from the concerns and suspicions of money laundering, smuggling and support for terrorism to clean and reliable activities with the Iraqi side's commitment to international conditions and standards, so this treatment requires procedures, time and international assistance to overcome the obstacle of monetary instability of the currency.

Al-Sarraj: Iraq did not enter a party to the mediation between America and Iran (Al-Jazeera Net)

The dollar and energy security

As for the head of the Iraqi Center for Media Development, Adnan al-Sarraj, he believes that McGurk's visit discussed the file of international energy security and mitigating its impact on oil-consuming countries, due to the Russian-Ukrainian war, which may drag on for another period, indicating that Iraq is an influential country in international energy security.

Regarding Qani's visit to Iraq, Al-Sarraj comments in his interview with Al-Jazeera Net, saying: "Qani's visit to Iraq is personal, and it came to perform the duty of condolences to the head of the Wisdom Movement, Ammar al-Hakim, after the death of the wife of Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim, in addition to that he held several meetings with some political figures." Noting that Iraq did not enter a party to the mediation between America and Iran due to the depth of their differences, as he put it.

With regard to his expectations about the objectives of the upcoming visit of the Sudanese to the United States, Al-Sarraj indicated that it aims to discuss the procedures of the US Federal Bank with the Central Bank of Iraq, which led to the refusal of transfers from Iraq to the countries of the world.

Meanwhile, political researcher Ali Al-Baydar believes that the presence of Qani and McGurk at the same time reflects the increase in the influence of the two countries in Iraq, especially on the current government headed by Al-Sudani, adding - in his interview with Al-Jazeera Net - that Washington and Tehran want to understand some details of the Iraqi file, Especially after the failure of the nuclear deal negotiations between the two countries, according to Al-Baider.