Iraq, Lebanon to Shun U.S.-sponsored Bahrain Conference

Iraqi Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmad al-Sahad announced on Wednesday that his country would not be attending the U.S.-led economic “workshop” in Bahrain on June 25 and 26, a day after Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil announced the same. The latter’s declaration came hours after Jordan, Egypt and Morocco informed the Trump Administration that they would be in attendance despite Palestinian calls for a boycott. Meanwhile, in a Facebook post on Wednesday, Ibrahim Melhem, a spokesman for the Palestinian Authority, urged Egypt and Jordan to reconsider. The White House has said it will reveal the economic portion of its much-anticipated Israeli-Palestinian peace plan at the conference, even with the Palestinians asserting that they will not be present. Moroccan Prime Minister Saadeddine Othmani reportedly told a press conference that he was unaware of his country’s participation in the meeting, according to Arab media. Lebanon and Iraq’s rejection of the invitation to join the two-day conference seemingly implies they are leaning toward the Shi’ite axis in the region despite a political tug-of-war between Washington and Tehran over influence in Baghdad. The United Nations also announced that it was sending its deputy Middle East coordinator, Jamie McGoldrick, to attend the Bahrain conference. Israel reportedly has not received an invitation.