Iran’s new President, Masoud Pezeshkian, today began a three-day visit to Iraq.
The visit aimed to deepen already close ties with the neighbouring country on his first trip abroad since taking office.
The three-day trip comes amid turmoil in the Middle East caused by the war in Gaza, which has drawn in Iran-backed armed groups around the region.
The issue has also complicated Iraq’s relations with the United States.
In a brief statement issued by the Iraqi premier’s office alongside a picture of the two men shaking hands on the tarmac at Baghdad airport said: “Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani welcomes the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian.”
Pezeshkian has vowed to make relations with neighbouring countries a priority as he seeks to ease Iran’s international isolation and mitigate the impact of US-led sanctions on its economy.
His visit comes after Western powers yesterday announced fresh sanctions on Iran for supplying Russia with short-range missiles for use against Ukraine.
Iranian foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani warned Britain, France and Germany that they “will face the appropriate and proportionate action” for the “hostile” move.
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Hours before Pezeshkian’s arrival, an explosion rocked a base at the airport used by a US-led anti-jihadist coalition, Iraqi security officials said.
The spokesperson for the Iranian-backed Hezbollah Brigades in Iraq said Tuesday night’s “attack” aimed to “disrupt the Iranian president’s visit.”
Ties between Iran and Iraq, both Shiite-majority countries, have grown closer since the US-led invasion of 2003 toppled the Sunni-dominated regime of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
“Iraq is one of our friends, brothers and Muslim countries,” Pezeshkian said before leaving Iran, according to footage aired on Iranian state television.
“And for this reason, we will go to this country as the first trip,” he added.
Pezeshkian, who took office in July after an early election following the death of his predecessor Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, has previously linked shoring up ties to sanctions pressure.
“Relations with neighbouring countries… can neutralise a significant amount of pressure of the sanctions,” he said last month.
Iran has suffered years of crippling Western sanctions, especially after its arch-foe the United States, under then-president Donald Trump, unilaterally abandoned a landmark nuclear deal between the Islamic republic and major powers in 2018.
Pezeshkian has made the top diplomat who negotiated the 2015 deal, Mohammad Javad Zarif, his vice president for strategic affairs as part of his bid for a more open Iran.
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