After an absence of nearly a year, Qaani returns to the Iraqi file with a visit to Baghdad.
After an absence of nearly a year, Qaani returns to the Iraqi file with a visit to Baghdad.
2026-04-18
Shafaq News – Baghdad
An informed source reported on Saturday that the commander of the Quds Force in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Ismail Qaani, arrived in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, in the past few hours on an unannounced visit.
The source told Shafaq News Agency that “Qaani held a series of meetings with a number of leaders of armed factions, followed by separate meetings with leaders within the coordination framework, which addressed developments in the political scene in the country.”
He added that “the talks focused on finding ways out of the political deadlock, in addition to discussing the future of the armed factions, including the possibility of integrating them into the official security services, as well as discussing the issue of some political leaders disassociating themselves from their armed wings.”
The source indicated that “the meetings also touched on the issue of the Prime Ministership, where mechanisms for resolving it were discussed and efforts were made to bring the views of the coordinating framework forces closer together regarding the nomination of a consensus candidate.”
The last visit of Qani to the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, was in July 2025, and it lasted only 10 hours at the time, during which he met with a number of the most prominent leaders of the coordination framework, without meeting with Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.
In this context, a political source revealed earlier on Saturday that the meeting of the coordination framework had been postponed at the request of caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.
In a related development, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced on Friday that it had added seven Iraqi faction leaders to its sanctions list, holding them responsible for planning, directing, and carrying out attacks against U.S. personnel, facilities, and interests in Iraq.
shafaq.com
