'No war and no peace' between the US and Iran 'cannot continue', Iraqi FM says

In an interview with FRANCE 24, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said the "no war and no peace" situation in the region "cannot continue". He also said that closing all but two border crossings with Iran, as Washington demands, was “not possible". Finally, he confirmed that Iraqi oil now is now flowing through the Strait of Hormuz under US protection. In Hussein's view, the standoff between Washington and Tehran "either goes towards peace or it goes towards war". Because Iraq "has been included" in the war pitting Iran against the US and Israel, he added, "it is our duty to mediate" – which is why Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi went to Tehran last week to meet Iran's top negotiator, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. Baghdad has so far not implemented Washington's demand to keep only two border crossings with Iran open and is still "in discussion" with US officials, Hussein said. He added that the measure "will be a kind of sanction against the Iraqi people". Oil exports via a route near Oman in the Strait of Hormuz began about two months ago and have risen from 2.2 to 3.2 million barrels a day, Hussein said, citing the oil minister. Asked about armed groups, Hussein said the Iraqi prime minister was leading talks to bring their weapons under state control by June 2027. Some had already accepted, and he hoped all of them "will accept the offer of the prime minister".