Behind the scenes of Baghdad’s turbulent dawn: Al-Amiri and Al-Zaidi’s meeting froze a government initiative and prompted a response from the factions to Saudi Arabia.
Behind the scenes of Baghdad’s turbulent dawn: Al-Amiri and Al-Zaidi’s meeting froze a government initiative and prompted a response from the factions to Saudi Arabia.
2026-08-07
Shafaq News – Baghdad
Multiple political and governmental sources revealed on Friday the behind-the-scenes details of the turbulent hours that Baghdad experienced on Thursday night and Friday morning, which ended with an understanding between Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zubaidi and Badr Organization leader Hadi al-Amiri, which stipulated a mutual truce between the government and the armed factions, and opened the way for Iraqi diplomatic action to address the crisis with Saudi Arabia.
Sources told Shafaq News Agency that Al-Amiri held a dawn meeting with Al-Zaidi, at the height of the security alert witnessed in the capital and other governorates. During the meeting, they discussed the threats issued by armed factions to retaliate against Saudi Arabia, in response to the measures that the government was preparing to take against armed groups and parties accused of carrying out attacks outside the borders.
According to the sources, the meeting ended with an understanding to “postpone the government’s field measures against the factions, in exchange for halting any military movement towards Saudi Arabia and giving the government an opportunity to address the crisis through diplomatic channels.”
She added that the security services had drawn up plans to carry out “special operations” targeting armed groups and parties suspected of involvement in attacks targeting Saudi Arabia, in conjunction with a widespread deployment and raising military readiness, but the understanding reached during the last few hours led to the suspension of those measures and a calming of the tight security deployment.
Multiple security sources revealed to Shafaq News on Thursday that orders had been issued to raise the level of readiness in all security and military forces and to cancel the leave of commanders and officers, coinciding with the end of a deadline set by the factions for the government regarding its position on Saudi Arabia, and in anticipation of the possibility of an armed clash.
At the same time, the Security Media Cell officially announced, under the direction of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, raising the level of readiness and combat preparedness of the security and military forces, including troop movements and field exercises.
After the dawn meeting, al-Amiri appeared in a video in which he called on the “Islamic Resistance” factions to postpone any military response against Saudi Arabia and to prioritize “Iraq’s supreme interest,” stressing that they would work to obtain the rights of the dead and wounded through diplomatic means.
Al-Amiri’s appearance came hours after an informed source told Shafaq News that the factions had decided to “temporarily” freeze their response to Saudi Arabia, and had put forward a list of demands, including an official apology and compensation for the victims and damages, in addition to calming the Saudi media rhetoric towards the factions.
Shafaq News sources indicate that Al-Amiri’s video came after an understanding was reached with Al-Zaidi.
These developments come after a meeting of the State Administration Coalition on Wednesday, which took a tougher stance on weapons outside state institutions, considering those who threaten the country’s security outside the official framework as “outlaws who must be fought,” and stressing that any armed activity outside the authority of the state after September 30, 2026, will be dealt with according to the counter-terrorism law.
shafaq.com
