Iraqi PM to attend US-GCC+3 meeting in Saudi Arabia 

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi is expected to participate in a meeting between members of the Gulf Cooperation Council plus three (GCC+3) and US President Joe Biden, his media office announced on Wednesday. 

The meeting is scheduled for Friday in Saudi Arabia's port city Jeddah, where President Biden will travel after he concludes his visit to Israel. 

Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq are the plus three members of the GCC, which consists of Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, and Qatar. 

Cooperation and coordination in energy, food security, and environmental challenges are expected to be discussed by the top officials, Kadhimi's media office said. 

Iraq's participation in the meeting was at the invitation of the Saudi Arabian King Salman, the statement added. 

Kadhimi visited Riyadh and Tehran in late June as part of his government's ongoing diplomatic efforts to deescalate tensions between the two rivals.

The US president is having a virtual meeting, known as I2U2, with the leaders of the UAE, India, and Israel on Thursday, according to the visit's agenda. He is expected to meet the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank before flying to Saudi Arabia on Friday. 

Accelerating regional cooperation and combating threats from Iran and its proxies are on the top of Biden's agenda.

When asked by Israeli Channel 12 whether his administration is willing to use force to stop Iran's nuclear program, Biden said, "If that was the last resort, yes." The interview, recorded in Washington before the president's departure, aired Wednesday after he landed in Tel Aviv.

"The only thing worse than the Iran that exists now is an Iran with nuclear weapons," Biden added. 

Israel is a staunch enemy of Iran, which is believed to have accelerated its uranium proliferation after former US President Donald Trump withdrew from a deal intended to stop the country from acquiring nuclear weapons.