Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif’s recent visit to Najaf in Iraq and his press conference with his Iraqi counterpart, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, in Baghdad sends several important signals — all centering on increasing regional security in the Middle East. First, the Iranian government considers the nuclear deal with six world powers as resolving any concerns about the possibility of its nuclear program being militarized. Second, the common heritage of both countries provides a natural alignment in combatting the threat of sectarianism and extremism. And finally, Iran is now effectively extending an “olive branch” of cooperation with its neighbors in resolving regional conflicts.
As has become his custom since assuming office as foreign minister in July 2013, Zarif began his visit to Iraq with a first official stop in the southern city of Najaf. While in this holy capital of Shiites, he met with senior clerics and officials, starting with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
Zarif’s direct flights from Tehran — and other cities, including Geneva this February — to Najaf should be construed as a message that Tehran understands the importance of the clergy in the current Iraqi political climate. The meeting between Zarif and Sistani was both symbolic and strategic given that the Iranian government sought and obtained the senior cleric’s implicit endorsement of the nuclear deal. This is particularly remarkable considering that Sistani does not hold any political office and was consulted before the federal government in Baghdad.
Although the official reason for his visit to Sistani was to brief him on Iran’s nuclear deal with the six world powers, Zarif’s consultation focused on the implications of the deal for Iranian-Iraqi and regional relations in combatting extremism and terrorism. Zarif’s message to Sistani was later reaffirmed in a press conference he gave with Jaafari in Baghdad, where he was quoted as saying, “International cooperation is necessary to counter terrorism and extremism. … Iran stands behind the people in the region to fight against the threat of extremism, terrorism and sectarianism … our message to the regional countries is that we should fight together against this shared challenge,” in reference to the Islamic State (IS), which poses an urgent threat to the entire region.
AL-MONITOR All-Access gives you unlimited access to all our journalism, the full Daily Briefing, exclusive interviews, premium newsletters, and live events — for less than $2/week.
