For half a century, Iraq has been either an aggressor toward its Middle East neighbors or a victim of them. On Saturday, it will try to play a different role, that of a regional mediator for peace. It is a role learned the hard way and now largely driven by young Iraqis, whose common slogan is "We want a country" (Nureed watan).

Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, whose past work includes leading an Iraqi foundation for conflict resolution, will be hosting a summit of Arab and Iranian leaders. The main aim is to end the violent rivalry between two big neighbors, Saudi Arabia and Iran, as well as their meddling in Iraq. [....]

"Iraq has succeeded in gaining the trust of these countries, and accordingly, it is working toward the stability of the region," he told AP.

Since Iraq's liberation from a dictator in 2003 by the United States, its fledgling democracy has been racked by internal rivalry between Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds. But the Iraqi people found some unity in their 2017 victory over the Islamic State caliphate, followed by youth protests in 2019 against corruption and the divvying up of resources by ethnicity and religion.