Al-Zaidi opens official Gulf tour with visit to Saudi Arabia, then heads to Kuwait
Iraq's Prime Minister Ali Falih al-Zaidi begins an official visit to Riyadh today focused on security and investigations into attacks that targeted Saudi Arabia, before traveling to Kuwait to follow up on maritime and trade issues.
Iraq's Prime Minister Ali Falih al-Zaidi is heading to Saudi Arabia today, Wednesday, 14 October 2026, on an official visit during which he will meet senior officials in Riyadh, then proceed to Kuwait to complete a Gulf tour aimed at calming tensions and strengthening security and economic cooperation.
Security matters top the agenda in Riyadh. Al-Zaidi will raise the investigation files related to attacks that targeted Saudi territory, stressing Baghdad's rejection of using Iraqi soil as a launchpad for any aggression against Gulf states or the region, and the Iraqi government's determination to hold accountable any party proven to be involved in cross-border operations.
Proposed items include securing the shared borders, exchanging intelligence, and opening direct communication channels to contain any emergency incident in its early stages. The Iraqi side also intends to present practical measures to prevent similar attacks while preserving Iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The visit had originally been scheduled for 29 July, but was postponed after joint air strikes carried out by the United States and Saudi Arabia on sites affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Authority and armed factions inside Iraq, following drone attacks that Riyadh said were launched from Iraqi territory toward oil facilities in the Eastern Province and the capital.
A series of internal and external contacts and mediations in the subsequent months helped ease tensions, highlighted by the visit of Saudi General Intelligence chief Khalid al-Humaidan to Baghdad in August, carrying a renewed invitation for al-Zaidi to visit the kingdom.
On military and economic fronts, energy security and supply disruptions will preoccupy the Iraqi delegation, including the issue of restarting the Iraqi-Saudi oil pipeline that runs to the Red Sea port of Yanbu and has been out of service since 1990, alongside ways to expand trade and review memoranda of understanding signed between the two countries.
In Kuwait, the visit program will focus on maritime boundary issues and regulating navigation in Khor Abdullah, following up on previous understandings reached by al-Zaidi with Kuwait's Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah during their meeting in New York last September, which resulted in forming a joint working team to address outstanding issues.
Prime Ministerial adviser Abdul Amir al-Taeiban described the tour as the start of a new phase in Iraq's relations with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, and called on Iraqi political forces to support the government's efforts to make it a success.
