Defense meeting: Iraq seeks to avoid regional tensions

Shafaq News/ On Sunday, Iraqi and Kurdish officials emphasized the importance of keeping Iraq neutral amid rising instability in the Middle East, warning of the potential for regional crises to spill across borders.

In a meeting held in Erbil, Fawzi Hariri, Chief of Staff to the Kurdistan Region Presidency, and Lieutenant General Showan Mazhar, Secretary-General of Iraq’s Ministry of Defense, discussed ongoing military ties and broader security cooperation, according to a statement issued by the Kurdish Presidency.

The meeting, the statement noted, “reaffirmed the need to maintain strong ties between the Kurdistan Region’s institutions and the federal Defense Ministry.”

Discussions also touched on regional developments and the need for Iraq to “remain insulated from external tensions,” with officials expressing concern over escalating conflicts in neighboring states.

Iraq has long worked to balance its foreign relations amid persistent friction between Iran, the United States, and other regional powers.

Meanwhile, Iraq leaders have repeatedly stressed the importance of avoiding alignment in broader regional disputes.