Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian arrived today on an official visit to Iraq – strategic partner of both Tehran and Washington, reports Reuters, quoted by BTA.
Several Iran-linked political parties and armed groups operate in Iraq, while Tehran has gradually strengthened its influence in the major oil producer since the US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Iraq, a partner of both the U.S. and Iran, has hosted about 2,500 U.S. troops and Iranian-backed militias affiliated with the security forces.
„We are planning to sign several agreements and we will meet in Baghdad with high-ranking Iraqi politicians,” Pezeshkian, considered a moderate politician, told Iranian media shortly before leaving for his first official trip abroad.
Iranian state media reported that the president also plans to visit Iraqi Kurdistan, where Iran has carried out strikes in the past and which it says harbors Iranian separatist groups and Israeli agents.
Baghdad is trying to assuage Iran's concerns about regional separatist groups by relocating some of their members under a 2023 deal with Tehran.
„We have several areas of cooperation, including political, regional and security-related issues,”, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arakchi told local media before the president's departure.