TEHRAN: Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who led negotiations with the US to end the Middle East war, will travel to Iraq on Wednesday for talks, Iranian media reported.
Ghalibaf will head “a high-level parliamentary delegation to discuss regional developments, strengthen strategic cooperation between Tehran and Baghdad and explore joint solutions to contribute to stability and security in the Middle East,” Iran’s Fars news agency said.
The visit comes as Iraq faces pressure from Washington to disarm powerful Iran-backed armed factions, which have built considerable political and financial clout in the country.
Baghdad has given pro-Iran armed groups until Sept 30 to disarm, coinciding with the end of the US-led anti-jihadist coalition’s mission.
Iran has been at war with the US since US-Israeli attacks on the Islamic republic on Feb 28 triggered a conflict that spread across the Middle East.
Ghalibaf’s visit also comes days after a drone attack on the office of the prime minister of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, which Kurdish authorities initially blamed on Tehran.
Iran denied involvement, saying the incident was a ploy to undermine bilateral relations.
Iran’s ISNA news agency reported Tehran’s ambassador to Baghdad, Mohammad Kazem al-Sadeq, as saying that Ghalibaf’s visit was planned in advance and is scheduled to last two days.
