Arabian Gulf Cup: A Tournament That Brought Iraq Closer to the Arabs and Confused Iran’s 'Illusions'

The 25th edition of the Arabian Gulf Cup, which was held in the Iraqi city of Basra, has not passed without political disputes between Iran and the Arab countries, especially the Gulf states. The conflict between the two parties, regarding Iraq’s relationship with its Arab and regional surroundings, was indirectly renewed.

On January 19, 2023, the Gulf Football Championship concluded, with Iraq crowning the title for the fourth time in the history of the Arab Gulf Cup. The first edition was launched in 1970, with the participation of Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Iraq, and Yemen.

 

The Return

Perhaps some believed the Gulf championship brought Iraq back to the Arab world’s arms, which sparked a lot of dissensions inside the country, and perhaps even outside, but indirectly, after many remarkable statements by Gulf and Arab officials blessing Iraq for its success in organizing the 25th Arabian Gulf Cup.

The first of these statements was from the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, who continued “challenging” Iran by referring to the tournament as “the Arabian Gulf.” Iran was greatly provoked by a previous tweet he had with the start of the tournament on January 6, 2023, in which the “Arabian Gulf” was mentioned too, and Tehran at that time expressed its official protest saying that Iraq is called the “Persian Gulf” and not “Arabian Gulf.”

Al-Sadr tweeted after the championship ended on January 19, 2023, saying: “We congratulate our people and our Iraqi team on their great victory in the final match of the (Arabian Gulf) Cup in its twenty-fifth edition, which was held in (our beloved Iraq).”

The leader of the Sadrist movement added: “We also thank all the Arab teams that participated in this tournament, which brought Iraq back to the Arab ranks in a new dress filled with love and peace.

He concluded: “So Welcome to you, Arab Gulf countries, in the Iraq of Arabism and patriarchy.”

Al-Sadr’s message when he wrote “the Arab ranks” was met with great interaction on social media, with support for the Iraqi–Arab rapprochement and rejection of Iran’s influence in their country, featured in receiving and welcoming citizens of the Gulf and Arab visitors to participate in the Gulf Cup.

During the past years, Western reports reviewed the manifestations of Iranian hegemony over Iraq.

A New York Times report published in July 2017 indicated that this dominance is embodied in everything from consumer goods on store shelves, business companies, and the formation of militias loyal to them, to the appointment of the prime minister and his ministers.

 

An Opportunity to Quarrel

Regarding the renewal of the Arab–Iranian conflict regarding Iraq’s relationship with its Arab surroundings in the 25th edition of the Arabian Gulf Cup, the Iraqi researcher and journalist Louay al-Munthir said that “the disputes between Iran and the Arab Gulf states are present on every occasion, so how about a major event that brings Iraq closer with the Arab countries; this may cause greater isolation of Iran.”

Al-Munthir explained to Al-Estiklal that “Iran does not want to see integration between the Arab peoples with Iraq, which represents the back garden of the Iranian government, the latter had control of Iraqis since the American occupation in 2003; it stopped industry, trade, agriculture and everything in Iraq until it controls the whole area and take much money from the country.”

Al-Munthir believed that “the state of great interaction of Gulf and Iraq leaders and the hosting of the Gulf football event confirms these countries intentions to restore the relationship between their peoples and the Iraqis, and this will necessarily be at the expense of Iran, which rejects any such rapprochement.”

The head of the Iraqi Center for Political Thinking, Ihsan al-Shammari, said “

The scenes that we saw in the Gulf Cup tournament, and what is happening today, are not only related to Muqtada al-Sadr’s messages, and the nature of the Iraqi celebration—as a people and even some political leaders—for teams and fans to a greater extent, it all reveals the extent of Arab feelings in an unquestionable way.”

Al-Shammari explained to Arabi21 that “the clear message away from football is that Iraq and Iraqis belong to Arabs, and they found through the Arab Gulf Cup, after these difficult years, the best way to prove it.”

He stressed that “the Iraqi personality is ceremonial by nature, towards any visitor, so how about if the guest is the brother, and there were policies to keep this brother away from Iraq, and the policies that were practiced, and expanded for them agendas linked to Iran, over 20 years, collapsed in front of the moment of Iraqi celebration of the Gulf countries, their teams, and their fans.

“We have now a clear message, a people’s message, and I am not talking about diplomatic messages, but the people are the ones who ultimately have the decision, in the nature of their affiliation, and for this, I imagine that they are speaking out loud to reject those policies that were practiced to distance the Iraqi people from their affiliation and their Arab surroundings.”

 

Different Interaction

Observers considered official Gulf and Arab positions to call the tournament as Arabian Gulf Cup is an implicit and indirect opposition towards Iran.

In this regard, the Saudi monarch, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, and his crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, congratulated the Iraqi President, Abdul Latif Rashid, on the occasion of his country’s success in organizing the Arabian Gulf Cup and the national team’s victory, according to the official Saudi Press Agency on January 22, 2023.

In his telegram, King Salman said: “We are pleased on the occasion of Iraq’s success in organizing the 25th Arabian Gulf Football Championship and the Iraqi first national football team’s victory in the championship cup. Our sincere congratulations and best wishes for more achievements, progress, and prosperity.”

Bin Salman also congratulated the Iraqi president on the success of his country’s organization of the Gulf Championship and the team’s victory.

The Emir of Qatar and Kuwait and the Vice President of the Emirates congratulated Iraq as well.

The Amiri Diwan of Qatar said that Prince Tamim bin Hamad congratulated the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammad Shia’ al-Sudani, on his country’s success in organizing the Gulf 25 championship, and expressed his wishes for Iraq to continue progress, in a phone call on January 19, 2023.

The Kuwait News Agency said that Prince Nawaf al-Ahmad expressed his sincere congratulations to the Iraqi President and the Prime Minister on the victory of the Iraqi football team in the Gulf Cup.

The Emir of Kuwait also praised “the high spirit and fraternal competition that all the participating teams had in this tournament, and the high level of technical performance performed by the Iraqi team.”

The Vice President of the Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, Mohammed bin Rashid, on January 20, 2023, expressed his happiness at the Iraqi national team’s victory in the Arabian Gulf Cup final.

He said on Twitter: “Iraq rejoiced today after a long patience and wait, and the peoples and hearts rejoiced with it. Today we are all Iraqis in joy. We are all Iraqis today in victory. Congratulations on the Arabian Gulf Cup, our family, and loved ones.”

He added: “Thank you, the people of Basra and the people of Iraq, for the good organization and hosting.”

As for the Iranian side, the newspapers launched a fierce attack on the Iraqi Prime Minister after the official protest submitted by Tehran on January 11, 2023, due to the “Arabian Gulf” label that was mentioned by al-Sudani, while welcoming the Gulf teams during the opening ceremony of the tournament on January 6.

On January 17, 2023, the Iranian newspaper Arman-e Emrooz launched offensive titles against the Prime Minister of Iraq. One of its articles was entitled Al-Sudani Shows His Tail, a Persian proverb that means the emergence of hidden true intentions.

The newspaper said: “The use of these names’ Arabian Gulf’ indicates that Iraqi officials have national goals represented in rapprochement with the Arabs.”

 

Solid Bonding

In the same context, the Washington Post published a report highlighting the atmosphere of the Arabian Gulf Cup hosted by Iraq for the first time since 1979, noting that the tournament has turned into a celebration of Arab unity.

On January 18, 2023, the newspaper said that hosting this tournament came as part of Iraq’s efforts to turn the page on decades of violence, instability, and isolation.

It quoted the Iraqi Prime Minister as saying that Gulf 25 is an opportunity that can help strengthen relations between Iraq and the rest of the Gulf countries, adding that hosting the tournament is a sign of recovery after the lean years and political turmoil.

The Washington Post stressed that hosting the tournament—which is held every two years and in which the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council participate, in addition to Yemen and Iraq—constituted the first opportunity for many Gulf citizens to visit Iraq and learn about its culture.

It pointed out that the championship represented a rare opportunity for the residents of Iraq to witness an international football event in their country, and most importantly, to express their pride in their homeland and their happiness with what the sporting event represents in terms of regional solidarity

It also shed light on the manifestations of the remarkable Iraqi generosity, which was translated by the popular celebration of the visitors who flocked to Iraq to attend the event noting that the residents of Basra opened their homes to host fans in light of the overcrowding of the city’s hotels.

The American newspaper concluded by saying that more than 50,000 Gulf visitors flocked to Iraq during the days of the tournament, according to the authorities, as the country eased border restrictions and granted entry visas for free, and made their way to Basra, the second largest city in the country, where the people welcomed them.