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On July 13, 2022, the office of Iraq's Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi announced that he would be participating in the summit scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia on July 16, 2022, which is also expected to be attended by leaders of countries that are members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – Egypt, Jordan and the U.S.[1]
According to media reports, one of the main issues to be discussed during the summit is the establishment of a regional defensive alliance in the Middle East, akin to the NATO model, to confront security threats, especially from Iran. It has also been reported that Israel is expected to participate in the alliance.
The Iran-backed Shi'ite militias in Iraq were quick to respond in fury to Al-Kadhimi's decision to join the summit. They claim that it is further proof of his "collaboration" with the U.S. and his "betrayal" of the Iraqi people. Elements from the militias have warned that he will be brought to trial because he is breaking the law that forbids normalization with Israel which was passed by the Iraqi parliament on May 26, 2022.
The following is a review of reactions to the announcement:
Hizbullah Brigades: Al-Kadhimi Will Be Tried For Treason; We Will Take Action against the Planned Coalition Headed by the U.S.
On July 13, 2022, Hizbullah Brigades spokesman Abu 'Ali Al-'Askari posted a message on his Telegram channel, part of which reads, "More than once we have warned of the danger posed by Kadhimi the traitor, and a situation to which matters may deteriorate [if he remains prime minister]. It is clear today that Iraq's situation is intolerable and continues to decline. There is no doubt that this collaborator is one of the main factors in the deterioration." Al-Askari warns, "In the very near future Kadhimi will stand trial for his crimes, the most recent of which is the attempt to drag Iraq into normalization with the oppressive entity [i.e. Israel]."
Al-'Askari asserts that if Iraq sinks into anarchy or civil war, those who worked to incite them will pay the price, starting with the Saudi regime, the UAE, "and those who stand behind them, the U.S."
The Hizbullah Brigades spokesman also relates to reports about American efforts to establish a regional coalition that will fight threats from Iran, and predicts that it will be a resounding failure and that Hizbullah will fight against it forcefully. He likens the coalition to the army of Al-Sufyani who, according to Shi'ite eschatology is an evil figure who will battle Mahdi the messiah, although his fate is to drown in the Syrian deserts. He states that if the coalition is like the army of Al-Sufyani, then its end is known, however, "if it isn't like it, then we will be the ones who will inform it about its end in Iraq."[2]
A poster bearing Al-'Askari's words, which threaten that Al-Kadhimi will soon be tried for his crimes, was posted on the Hizbullah Brigades Telegram channel. On the poster, Al-Kadhimi is depicted behind bars, in handcuffs and a neck chain wearing a prison jumpsuit with the word "traitor" stamped on it.[3]
Posters on Pro-Militia Telegram Channels Threaten Al-Kadhimi
Several hours after the announcement from the Iraqi Prime Minister's Office about Al-Kadhimi's scheduled participation in the summit, Al-Tahira Editor, a Telegram channel which is a subsidiary of the Sabereen News Telegram channel, shared a series of anti-Kadhimi posters in which he is warned that to participate in "the normalization conference being planned by Biden," is treason and directly violates the law which prohibits normalization with Israel, and whoever does so will not escape punishment.[4]
Another poster shows Al-Kadhimi standing wrapped in an Israeli flag and partially obscuring the symbol of Saudi Arabia, above text asking how the Iraqi politicians will justify their participation in a summit which calls for normalization with Israel, and how the Iraqi people will respond to efforts to push it into such normalization.
Al-Tahira Editor also shared a short motion graphic video which shows Al-Kadhimi with President Biden from July 26, 2021, when the Iraqi prime minister visited Washington. Also shown is a photograph of Al-Kadhimi with the Saudi Deputy Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman. The hashtag #KadhimiAtTheNormalizationSummit appears throughout the entire video. A post which accompanies the video reads, "Whoever normalizes relations with Israel, we will cut off his head and his hands."
Purpose of Biden Visit: Israel's Security; U.S. Abandons its Allies and its Values
The Al-Tahira Editor Telegram channel also shared several anti-U.S. posters, which contend that the purpose of Biden's visit is to ensure Israel's security and nothing more, and wonder whether Iraq has an ulterior interest in participating in the summit and in the normalization process.
One of the posters shows a pair of hands holding a slingshot designed in the colors of the Iraqi flag, preparing to shoot stones at the Statue of Liberty which is holding aloft, one in each hand, the flag of Saudi Arabia and the Israeli flag.
Other posters warn Iraqi politicians to beware of American promises, stressing that the U.S. did not hesitate to abandon its allies when doing so suited its purposes.
The text on another poster asserts that Biden has abandoned his principles and the promises he made during his election campaign, and that he cooperates with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is suspected of involvement in the murder in Turkey of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
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