UN Security Council delegation lands in Baghdad for first time in nearly 30 years

A delegation from the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) arrived in Baghdad for the first time in nearly three decades.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A delegation from the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) arrived in Baghdad for the first time in nearly three decades.

The visit comes in response to an invitation made by Baghdad.

UNSC delegations to Iraq have been suspended since the invasion of Kuwait in the 1990s and ensuing sanctions against Baghdad.

A spokesperson for Iraq's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ahmad al-Sahhaf, said the one-day visit was part of Iraq’s support for “stability and reconstruction,” and would be done in a way that “confirms the sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity of Iraq.”

No accompanying visit to the Kurdistan Region was announced, but could not be ruled out. 

The UNSC is made up of five permanent member states – China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US – and ten non-permanent member states which serve two-year terms. Currently, those are Belgium, Côte d’Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Germany, Indonesia, Kuwait, Peru, Poland, South Africa.

According to Sahhaf, the international delegation and Iraqi officials will discuss the latest developments in the country as well as the growing concern in the region due to current US-Iranian tensions.

Two days before the delegation landed, A large gathering of demonstrators, some appearing to be wearing military uniforms, stormed the Bahraini embassy in Baghdad late Thursday to protest the American so-called "deal of the century" Middle East peace proposal. 

Related Article: Crowds storm Bahrain embassy in Baghdad to protest US Palestine peace plan

The attack came as Jared Kushner, senior adviser to US President Donald Trump, is in the Bahraini capital of Manama, presenting the plan.

A political source in Baghdad told Kurdistan 24 that the event was organized with the support of notorious Iran-backed militia group Kata'ib Hezbollah, designated a foreign terrorist organization by the US in 2009.