Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in Baghdad on Wednesday, making an official
visit to Iraq, a strategic ally of both Tehran and Washington, Iran’s state media said.
Iraq hosts several Iran-aligned parties and armed groups, as Tehran has steadily increased its sway in the major oil producer since a U.S.-led invasion toppled its enemy Saddam Hussein in 2003.
A rare partner of both the United States and Iran, Iraq hosts 2,500 U.S. troops and has Iran-backed militias linked to its security forces. It has suffered escalating tit-for-tat
attacks since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in Gaza in October.
“We are planning to sign several agreements,” Iran’s state media quoted Pezeshkian, a relative moderate, as saying ahead of the visit, his first official foreign trip. “We will meet senior Iraqi officials in Baghdad.”
The United States and Iraq have reached an understanding on plans for the withdrawal of U.S.-led coalition forces from Iraq, say sources familiar with the matter.
Iran-aligned militia groups in Iraq have repeatedly attacked US troops in the Middle East since the Gaza war began.
State media have said Pezeshkian also plans to visit Iraqi Kurdistan, a region where Iran has carried out strikes in the past, saying it is used as a staging ground for Iranian
separatist groups as well as agents of its arch-foe Israel.
Baghdad has tried to tackle Iranian concerns over regional separatist groups, moving to relocate some members in a 2023 security pact with Tehran.
“We have several co-operation areas, including political, regional … and security issues,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said ahead of the president’s trip, according to state
media.
The visit is in keeping with Pezeshkian’s promise to prioritise ties with neighbours as he seeks to ease his country’s isolation and mitigate the impact of sanctions on the economy. Western powers recently announced fresh sanctions on Iran for supplying short-range missiles to Russia.
With Reuters inputs
