Iraqi foreign minister’s first trip to post-Assad Syria

News coverage of Iraq has been dominated by the corruption arrests and raids inside the Green Zone, all the while other developments have been unfolding in the realm of foreign policy. On Monday, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein made his first visit to Damascus under the new Syrian regime. Until now, all Iraqi delegations to Syria since December 2024 had been led by the head of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service (INIS), Hamid Al-Shatri or politicians.

Hussein met with his Syrian counterpart, Asaad Al-Shaibani, and interim Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa. Hussein was accompanied by his chief of staff, Salwan Sinjari, who previously served as Iraq's chargé d'affaires in Washington, DC.