Sources: Riyadh invites Al-Zaydi to visit Saudi Arabia amid moves to contain tension with Baghdad

Baghdad – Baghdad Observer, informed political and diplomatic sources told Baghdad Observer that Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaydi received an official invitation to visit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a step aimed at containing the tension that followed the latest strikes inside Iraqi territory.

The sources added that the Saudi side is conducting contacts with a number of Iraqi and regional parties to secure the visit, expecting that Al-Zaydi will head to Riyadh at the beginning of next week, provided the political and security arrangements related to it are completed.

According to the sources, the Saudi message included an indication that Riyadh has not obtained conclusive evidence proving that the latest attack on Saudi territory originated from inside Iraq.

The sources said the kingdom acknowledged, in the exchanged correspondence, that the information on which the strikes targeting sites inside Iraq were based was not entirely accurate, and that it came from international and Gulf parties.

So far, no official statement has been issued by the Iraqi or Saudi governments regarding the new invitation or the content of the message, and Baghdad Observer was unable to independently view the document referred to by the sources.

A previously scheduled visit by Al-Zaydi to Riyadh had been postponed in late July following US-Saudi strikes that targeted sites belonging to security forces inside Iraq, which prompted Baghdad to condemn the attacks and consider them a violation of the country's sovereignty.

According to the sources, the prospective visit is expected to address mechanisms for easing tension, direct exchange of security information, and ensuring that military operations inside Iraqi territory are not repeated based on information that has not undergone sufficient verification.

It is also likely that the two sides will discuss the future of bilateral relations, economic and security cooperation, and ways to prevent disagreements over regional attacks from turning into an open crisis between Baghdad and Riyadh.