Abdul Rahman Arif
During the mid 1960s, France was investigating new sources for cheap, good quality crude oil in the Middle East and began cultivating strategic partnerships with both Iraq and Iran accordingly. The establishment of strong bilateral ties between the French and Iraqi governments in 1967 coincided with several oil concessions being granted to a French firm, Elf Aquitaine, and an Iraqi military programme to acquire new Western arms in the aftermath of the Six-Day War. A delegation from the Iraqi Armed Forces first visited Paris around December 1967, and was followed by a second led personally by General Abdul Rahman Arif in February 1968. The Iraqis apparently placed orders for 75 AML armoured cars during both visits. Both orders resulted in a total of 106 AML-60s and 40 AML-90s being acquired by Iraq. These sales were perceived by the French government as a practical manifestation of its new Middle Eastern policies and an opportunity for cultivating more interest in new oil and other commercial deals France hoped to sign with Iraq. The decision to transfer AMLs to Iraq was, much like the similar sale to Saudi Arabia, vilified by the French domestic press as a violation of a voluntary arms embargo imposed on the Middle East. In both cases, the French government maintained that the embargo excluded only arms with "clear offensive characteristics", such as tanks or fighter aircraft.