Iraqi premier meets Iranian president in Tehran on 1st official visit since taking office

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Tehran on Thursday during his 1st official visit to Iran since taking office in May.

Al-Zaidi’s media office said the Iraqi premier held a bilateral meeting with Pezeshkian, without providing further details.

Earlier, Al-Zaidi arrived in Iran, leading a high-level ministerial delegation, the Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported.

Speaking on the sidelines of the meeting, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the Iran-Iraq agreement was among the key issues discussed during the visit, according to a statement published on his Telegram channel.

“The agreement has been implemented to an acceptable extent, but it requires greater attention,” Araghchi said, adding that some concerns remained in certain areas and expressing hope that they would be addressed.

Referring to the Iraqi premier’s recent visit to Washington, Araghchi said it was natural for him to share his views and impressions with Iranian officials.

The Iranian presidency said in a statement that the two leaders affirmed that the historical, cultural, religious and people-to-people ties between Iran and Iraq “provided an important foundation for developing their strategic relationship,” stressing the need to preserve and strengthen them.

They also emphasized that the full implementation of previously signed agreements was essential to advancing bilateral relations and achieving shared interests, according to the statement.

Pezeshkian and Al-Zaidi called for more effective use of the two countries’ shared potential in politics, economy, trade, transportation, energy and regional cooperation.

They said expanding Tehran-Baghdad relations across all fields would promote stability, security and prosperity in both countries while supporting regional solidarity and cooperation.

Al-Zaidi said the visit would include meetings with senior Iranian officials to discuss issues of mutual interest and strengthen bilateral cooperation.

“Today, we are heading to Tehran on an official visit. We will meet with senior officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran to discuss issues of mutual interest, bilateral cooperation, regional developments and ongoing efforts to consolidate security and stability across the region,” he said in a post on the US social media company X.

“Iraq and Iran are bound by historic and civilizational ties, shared borders and common interests,” Al-Zaidi said.

He stressed the need to continue working in a spirit of “dialogue, cooperation and mutual respect” to promote sustainable development and prosperity for both peoples and support security and stability at the regional and international levels.

Al-Zaidi took office as Iraq’s prime minister in May after parliament approved his government.