Will Iraq Normalize Relations With Israel Soon?

Ever since the Abraham Accords were signed between Israel on one side and the UAE and Bahrain on the other, many discussions have been speculating the next Arab countries to sign normalization deals with Israel.

Translation: "After a made-up report by the UAE-based Sky News Arabia, the Iraqi presidency is denying reports that Barham Salih has agreed to normalize relations with Israel in coordination with the Palestinians, calling on news reporters to only cite reliable sources."

Despite the lack of official ceremonies signing deals between Israel, Sudan and Morocco, UAE-based Sky News Arabia has recently expected Iraq to be the next Arab country to normalize relations with Israel, with "an Iraqi condition that peace should follow an agreement between the Palestinians and the Israelis."

While no official statements have pointed at an approaching step between Baghdad and Tel Aviv, a statement by the Iraqi President Barham Salih has firmly denied the reports, saying that no such steps have been considered by Iraq yet.

Translation: "On the contrary, the report was only an attempt to test public reaction"

Meanwhile, some social media users wondered whether or not the unconfirmed reports were orchestrated by Iraqi officials to test the public's reaction to a potential step in that direction, saying that the official statement by the president "can not end the controversy."

Over the last few weeks, several sources have noted that a similar agreement could also be signed between Israel and Syria with Russian mediation, following a rare prisoners' swap deal between the two countries. However, no official announcements have been made in this regard so far either.