Iraq threatened summit withdrawal if Israel’s Netanyahu attended, official says

NEWSROOM — Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani informed both the Egyptian and U.S. sides that Iraq would withdraw from the Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended, a senior government source told the state news agency Monday.

“There was no official invitation from the Egyptian side to Netanyahu to attend the Sharm El-Sheikh Summit,” the source said. “Trump tried to bring the Israeli prime minister and held diplomatic contacts to secure Netanyahu’s participation.”

The source said al-Sudani made Iraq’s position clear to the summit organizers. “The prime minister informed the Egyptian and American sides that Iraq would withdraw from the summit if Netanyahu participated. It was a firm Iraqi stance,” the official said.

The source added that other participating countries shared similar views, preventing Netanyahu’s attendance. “The positions of other participants were similar to Iraq’s, and for this reason, Trump’s attempt to bring Netanyahu to the Sharm El-Sheikh Summit did not succeed,” the official said, describing Baghdad’s role as proof of “Iraq’s independent decision-making and its ability to influence regional discussions.”

Reports from ynetnews and Axios confirmed that U.S. President Donald Trump had asked Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to invite Netanyahu to the summit, intended to address the Gaza war and postwar governance. According to Axios, the idea was raised during Trump’s ride with Netanyahu from Ben Gurion Airport to the Knesset, and Trump later called el-Sisi to request the invitation. ynetnews reported that Egypt’s presidential palace initially confirmed Netanyahu’s attendance, but later canceled it after objections from his religious coalition partners over the Simchat Torah holiday.

The summit, co-chaired by Trump and el-Sisi, aims to promote a ceasefire in Gaza and coordinate reconstruction.

Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr condemned Iraq’s participation, calling it “a disgrace on the ruling Shia parties” if Iraq took part in “a meeting that might include [Netanyahu].” On social media, he wrote, “It is a shame… and perhaps the beginning of normalization, or even an endorsement of the two-state solution, which is criminalized by the law on normalization. O God, I disavow this act in advance. O God, bear witness.”

In contrast, former deputy prime minister Bahaa al-Araji praised al-Sudani’s stance, calling it “a national and honorable position credited to Mr. al-Sudani and Iraqi diplomacy.” Writing on X, he said Iraq joined only after receiving “guarantees that the criminal Netanyahu would not attend.”

Iraq’s Parliament passed a law in May 2022 criminalizing any normalization with Israel. The legislation forbids Iraqis from traveling to Israel, contacting Israeli institutions, or promoting normalization, with penalties ranging from life imprisonment to death.