Iraqi oil and fight against terrorism: Aoun's' official visit to Baghdad

BEIRUT — Lebanese President Joseph Aoun is on an official visit to Baghdad on Sunday, where he met with his Iraqi counterpart Abdellatif Rashid, as well as Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani.

During this visit, aimed at showcasing the “brotherly and historical relations” between the two countries, according to the Lebanese presidency, Aoun is also expected to thank Iraq for oil deliveries and discuss security cooperation, particularly in counter-terrorism efforts.

In a message posted on his X account, the Lebanese presidency indicated that the head of state is accompanied for his visit by the Director General of the General Security, General Hassan Choucair. The former head of this service, General Abbas Ibrahim, is part of the negotiators for the deliveries of Iraqi oil destined for Lebanon's power plants, which are chronically short of power.

Iraqi oil a “vital pillar” for Lebanon

Upon his arrival, Aoun stated that his stay will “confirm the depth of the brotherly and historical relations between Lebanon and Iraq.” “During this visit, I will express all my feelings of appreciation to the Iraqi leaders and the Iraqi people, in recognition of the continuous support and assistance they have provided to Lebanon, especially in difficult times. We greatly appreciate the deliveries of Iraqi oil, which have been a vital pillar for Lebanon,” he said.

Lebanese Finance Minister Yassine Jaber and Energy and Water Minister Joe Saddi traveled to Iraq on May 7 to examine issues related to oil supply.

Lebanon and Iraq are bound by an agreement signed in the summer of 2021 and renewed since. It stipulates that Iraq delivers a cargo of crude oil each month to a third-party company, which in turn will provide an equivalent amount of fuel compatible with the power plants of Électricité du Liban (EDL). According to the initial terms of this agreement, the Finance Ministry is supposed to deposit in an account at the Banque du Liban (BDL) the amount equivalent to the quantities received, so that the Iraqi authorities spend these sums exclusively in Lebanon in exchange for services, the nature of which had not been specified. These sums had not yet been spent. Yassine Jaber had then discussed sending wheat to Lebanon and reviving the activities of the pipeline linking Iraq to Lebanon.

“Fight against terrorism and extremism”

The Lebanese head of state further emphasized that his talks with officials in Baghdad “will confirm the alignment of views between our two countries, especially regarding security cooperation and the fight against terrorism and extremism.” “We believe that security in Lebanon and Iraq is interconnected, and that addressing challenges requires concerted efforts and an exchange of expertise and information between the concerned institutions,” he affirmed.

Aoun was welcomed at Baghdad airport by the Iraqi Prime Minister, before heading to the presidential palace to be received by his counterpart Abdellatif Rachid.

Controversy over the Popular Mobilization Forces and Arab summit

A controversy erupted in mid-May, a few days before the Arab summit organized in Baghdad for the first time in several years, due to the absence of Joseph Aoun from this event. The presidency indicated that this absence was solely due to the fact that the president and his wife Neemat Aoun were expected at the inaugural mass of the new pope, Leo XIV, which took place on the same day, without seeing any political reasons for it.

This controversy occurred after a statement by the head of state regarding the disarmament of Hezbollah and the integration of its fighters into the army, in which he mentioned the Iraqi experience. He called to avoid “the experience of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces, by integrating Hezbollah into the army or making Hezbollah an independent unit within it.” The Popular Mobilization Forces is a coalition of predominantly pro-Iranian paramilitary groups integrated into the Iraqi state apparatus.

Lebanon was then represented in Baghdad by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.

Aoun expressed his gratitude to Iraq for "all the grants, advancements, and assistance it has provided to Lebanon in various fields."

In a joint press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Aoun said, cited by NNA that “We are in urgent need of establishing a system of common Arab interest — a system based on the exchange of shared interests between our countries and peoples, their development, and its multiplication. A structured and regulated Arab system, within the framework of bilateral and joint agreements, gradually and steadily crystallizing into a common Arab market that organizes cooperation among all our national economies, facilitating the movement of people, goods, and services of all kinds.”

“The solution to the problem of our national identity within our established state, I literally draw from a deep and genuine stance of His Eminence, the Supreme Religious Authority, Sayyed Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, last November, when he outlined a clear roadmap for the solution.

He called on "the conscious elites to learn from the experiences they have gone through and to work diligently toward achieving a better future for their country, where everyone enjoys security, stability, progress, and prosperity, through preparing scientific and practical plans for managing the country based on: the principle of competence and integrity in positions of responsibility, preventing external interference in all its forms, enforcing the rule of law, monopolizing weapons in the hands of the state, and combating corruption at all levels.'"