Prime Minister Al‑Zaidi’s trip comes as Iraq seeks to play a stabilising role after a deadly drone strike on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport that killed at least 12 people and injured more than 300. Baghdad has publicly condemned the Houthi‑claimed attacks, stressing that assaults on civilians and infrastructure threaten regional security and stability. The prime minister’s agenda in Riyadh is expected to focus on de‑escalation of the Yemen conflict, preventing further attacks on neighbours, and strengthening security cooperation. A key economic item on the table is the possible re‑activation of the dormant 1,568‑kilometre Iraq‑Saudi oil pipeline, which would give Baghdad an alternate export route to the Red Sea and reduce reliance on Gulf ports.
Following the Saudi visit, Al‑Zaidi will travel to Kuwait to negotiate maritime boundaries, the use of the Khor Abdullah waterway and Iraq’s water‑rights issues. These discussions are critical for Iraq’s oil export strategy and for addressing broader water‑resource challenges in the region.
What to watch next: (1) any concrete agreement on reopening the Iraq‑Saudi oil pipeline; (2) outcomes of the Kuwait talks on water‑way access and boundary delimitation; (3) Iraq’s next diplomatic statements on the Riyadh attacks, which could signal the extent of its involvement in regional security initiatives. [[1]]