Mideast Leaders Plus France Meet in Baghdad to Talk Security, Diplomacy

(L–R) French President Emmanuel Macron, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, Iraq's Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Jordan's King Abdullah II, Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Nayef al-Hajraf pose for a group picture after the meeting in Baghdad, Iraq, on Aug. 28, 2021. Ludovic Marin/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

BAGHDAD—Several Middle Eastern leaders and French President Emmanuel Macron met in Baghdad on Saturday at a summit hosted by Iraq, which wants its neighbors to talk to each other instead of settling scores on its territory.

Relationships within the region are strained chiefly by hostility between Iran on one side and the United States and its Arab Gulf allies on the other.