Leaders from Arab countries met in Baghdad on Saturday for the annual Arab League summit. Iraq, as the host, played an important role in the meeting.
The main topic of discussion was the war in Gaza. In March, there was an emergency meeting in Cairo about Gaza, where about 2 million people live. The situation in Gaza has been very difficult because of ongoing violence.
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Two months ago, Israel ended a ceasefire deal it had with the Hamas group, who control Gaza. Recently, Israel has launched many attacks in Gaza and said it plans to increase its military actions to try to destroy Hamas.
The Baghdad summit happened just after U.S. President Donald Trump visited the region earlier this week. Many people hoped Trump’s visit would lead to a new ceasefire in Gaza, but it did not. Instead, Trump made news by meeting with a Syrian rebel leader, who once fought against U.S. forces in Iraq. Trump also promised to lift some U.S. sanctions on Syria.
The Syrian rebel leader, known as al-Sharaa, used to be part of al-Qaida and fought against the U.S. after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He is a sensitive figure because some Iraqi militias, especially Shiite groups, have fought alongside Syria’s government during its long conflict.
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Iraq has close, but sometimes complicated, relationships with both the United States and Iran. The country tries to balance these ties and act as a mediator in the region.
Before the summit, Iran’s military commander Esmail Ghaani visited Baghdad. He brought messages and asked for the lifting of harsh sanctions on Iran.
