"said at a meeting with an Egyptian delegation in a Baghdad hotel"
How did ABC get this? Was it public, or was it leaked?
I've got an explanation that works for me, but only if this was intended to be a private meeting: Iraq is trying to drum up support from Egypt.
If it was public, it's probably bad tactics. It will play well with a lot of Arabs, but not so well with the parts of the UN who are pissed with Iraq.