Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji held separate, high-level bilateral defense meetings on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, in Moscow, Russia. Aligning with the newly formed cabinet’s foreign policy priorities, Al Araji met with Ali Bagheri, the Deputy Secretary-General of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and Major General Azad Sajjad Khan, Director-General of Analysis for Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), to solidify cross-border security protocols.
According to an official statement from al-Araji’s media office reported by Shafaq News, the strategic talks prioritized defense logistics, intelligence-sharing frameworks, and regional mediation efforts to secure unstable geopolitical zones.
During his meeting with Iran’s Ali Bagheri, al-Araji reviewed shifting Middle Eastern security matrices and emphasized diplomatic channels as the primary tool to end regional conflicts. The core of the discussion centered on preventing border violations and managing armed groups along the shared frontier.
- Constitutional Compliance: Al-Araji explicitly reaffirmed that the Iraqi Constitution strictly prohibits the use of Iraqi territory as a launching pad or staging ground for aggression against neighboring states.
- Proposing a Regional Defense Bloc: The National Security Advisor advocated for the establishment of a regional security coordination council involving all neighboring countries to standardize anti-threat protocols.
- Cabinet Reassurance: Bagheri extended Tehran’s formal congratulations to the newly ratified government of Prime Minister Ali Falih al-Zaidi and welcomed al-Araji to an upcoming follow-up security summit in Iran.
In his second meeting, al-Araji sat down with Major General Azad Sajjad Khan to outline a robust bilateral defense strategy between Baghdad and Islamabad. Al-Araji passed along the compliments of Prime Minister al-Zaidi, commending Pakistan’s historic role as a diplomatic mediator between Iran and the United States.
Major General Khan reviewed the latest updates on the sensitive US-Iran negotiation tracks, noting that Pakistan remains dedicated to bridging viewpoints between Washington and Tehran to avoid regional escalation.
