Its value reaches $100 billion.. US report: Iran is trying to prevent Saudi investments in Iraq
Its value reaches $100 billion.. US report: Iran is trying to prevent Saudi investments in Iraq
2025-09-27 05:02
Shafaq News – Translation
An analysis by the American website Media Line indicates that the Iranian-backed Iraqi political parties and forces’ attempts to obstruct Saudi investment plans and projects in western Iraq have several objectives and domestic and regional political repercussions .
According to the report, translated by Shafaq News Agency, “Tehran continues to confront the Kingdom on several fronts, including in Iraq, despite the rapprochement and normalization between Saudi Arabia and Iran since 2023.” The report indicated that Iran is trying to prevent Saudi investments “that could reach $100 billion .”
The US website’s report noted that “Iranian-backed parties and militias disrupted a session of the Iraqi parliament on September 16, with a number of representatives withdrawing to disrupt the quorum ahead of a scheduled meeting to discuss and approve the text of the bilateral investment treaty between Iraq and Saudi Arabia .”
The website also noted that “the agreement has not yet been ratified, even though it was originally drafted in 2017. ”
According to the report, “Iran and its allied parties and militias in Iraq say they fear that extensive Saudi investments in the western and southwestern regions, bordering the Kingdom and Jordan, will lead to the emergence of an autonomous Sunni region .”
He considered that “such a development could lead to a weakening of Shiite influence in these areas, many of which are inhabited by a Sunni majority and share a border with Syria, which are vital for the transfer of weapons to Lebanon .”
The report noted that “the Iraqi-Saudi agreements under discussion grant Saudi companies investment rights in desert lands along Iraq’s western borders with Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Syria, as well as in the provinces of Anbar, Najaf, and Muthanna. These agreements relate to projects in agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and other areas, and were agreed upon in 2018. ”
The website added, “In May 2024, Iraq signed 12 memoranda of understanding with Saudi investment companies. In November 2024, the two countries signed a final draft of an investment promotion and protection agreement, as part of a deal aimed at creating a safe and attractive environment for Saudi investors in Iraq .”
The report quoted a previous statement made by MP Saud al-Saadi at a press conference, in which he said, “This agreement grants millions of acres to Saudi companies, which harms Iraqi interests,” adding, “This is colonialism, not investment .”
The report also quoted a previous statement by Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq leader Qais Khazali, in which he said, “The Saudi regime is seeking to seize large areas of Anbar, Najaf, Muthanna, and Basra under the guise of investment, which is occurring in parallel with steps toward normalization with Israel .”
The report also quoted Farouk Ali, a real estate company owner and investor specializing in investment, as saying, “Iran continues to veto Saudi investments, fearing that Saudi economic influence could expand into political influence .”
Ali added, “Billions of dollars in investments by pro-Iranian parties and militias in Iraq have been blocked simply because they are Saudi .”
According to the spokesman, “the armed factions oppose (these Saudi investments) for their own personal interests .”
Ali was also quoted as saying, “These investments were supposed to expand into other sectors, create hundreds of thousands of job opportunities for Iraqis, and encourage industries such as logistics, agriculture, construction, and contracting, but all of this has been postponed indefinitely .”
The report noted that “opponents have warned that the emergence of a Sunni region in western Iraq could cut off Iran’s land corridor to Syria, as these provinces border Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia .”
The Media Line website reported that, “According to Sunni politician Abdullah al-Qaraghouli, the issue is not related to the rejection of a Sunni region, or even Saudi investments in Iraq, but rather to the presence of Shiite militias near the Saudi border .”
He explained, “These militias are trying to stay close to Saudi Arabia so they can launch strikes if Iran orders them to do so .”
The politician believes, “They want to control these investments and obtain their revenues instead of allowing Saudi Arabia to benefit .”
Al-Qaraghouli continued, according to the report, “Saudi investments will replace Iranian investments and create hundreds of thousands of job opportunities, which means these individuals will ally directly or indirectly with Saudi Arabia, which would give Riyadh significant influence in Iraq, something Iran rejects, even if it reconciles with Saudi Arabia .”
But Iraqi political analyst Abbas al-Khazraji told the American website, “It is not possible for anyone to accept the granting of all this land to one country, especially in such sensitive areas.” He added, “There are indeed Saudi investments in Iraq, particularly in Baghdad, which no one has opposed, but on this scale, it is unprecedented .”
“We don’t trust the Saudis,” the report quoted Al-Khazraji as saying, adding, “Iran has previously offered to invest in these areas, so why is Iran being rejected and Saudi Arabia being accepted? ”
The report also quoted Saudi journalist Majid Al-Khalidi, an economics specialist, as saying, “It is not surprising that Iran opposes these Saudi investments in Iraq,” adding, “Tehran views everything through a political lens, while Saudi Arabia sees it as support for Iraq and a major investment opportunity for a country exhausted by wars .”
Al-Khalidi added, as quoted in the report, that “there are more than 13 agreements between Iraq and Saudi Arabia in the investment sector, some of which are still awaiting implementation .”
shafaq.com
