Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, arrived in neighbouring Iraq on Wednesday as he strikes to deepen already shut ties on his first international go to since taking workplace.
“Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani welcomes the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian,” the Iraqi premier’s workplace mentioned in a quick assertion alongside an image of the 2 males shaking palms on the tarmac at Baghdad airport.
Pezeshkian has vowed to make relations with neighbouring nations a precedence as he seeks to ease Iran’s worldwide isolation and mitigate the influence of US-led sanctions on its financial system.
His go to comes after Western powers on Tuesday introduced recent sanctions on Iran for supplying Russia with short-range missiles to be used towards Ukraine.
Iranian international ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani warned Britain, France and Germany that they “will face the suitable and proportionate motion” for the “hostile” transfer.
The go to additionally comes amid turmoil within the Center East sparked by the battle in Gaza, which has drawn in Iran-backed armed teams across the area and complex Baghdad’s ties with Washington.
Hours earlier than Pezeshkian’s arrival, an explosion rocked a base on the airport utilized by a US-led anti-jihadist coalition, Iraqi safety officers mentioned.
A spokesperson for the Iranian-backed Ketaeb Hezbollah (Hezbollah Brigades) in Iraq mentioned the Tuesday evening “assault” aimed to “disrupt the Iranian president’s go to”.
Ties between Iran and Iraq, each Shiite-majority nations, have grown nearer because the US-led invasion of 2003 toppled the Sunni-dominated regime of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
“Iraq is considered one of our mates, brothers and Muslim nations,” Pezeshkian mentioned earlier than leaving Iran, in response to footage aired on Iranian state tv.
“And because of this, we’ll go to this nation as the primary journey,” he added.
Pezeshkian has beforehand linked shoring up ties to sanctions stress.
“Relations with neighbouring nations… can neutralise a major quantity of stress of the sanctions,” he mentioned final month.
Iran has suffered years of crippling Western sanctions, particularly after its arch-foe the US, below then-president Donald Trump, unilaterally deserted a landmark nuclear deal between the Islamic republic and main powers in 2018.
Pezeshkian, who took workplace in late July, has made the highest diplomat who negotiated the 2015 deal, Mohammad Javad Zarif, his vice chairman for strategic affairs as a part of his bid for a extra open Iran.
– Key commerce companions –
Iran has turn into considered one of Iraq’s main commerce companions, and wields appreciable political affect in Baghdad, the place its Iraqi allies dominate parliament and the present authorities.
Yearly, tens of millions of Iranian pilgrims journey to Iraq’s Shiite holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, and Pezeshkian may even go to the shrines there throughout his go to.
Non-oil commerce between Iran and Iraq stood at almost $5 billion over the 5 months from March 2024, Iranian media reported.
Iran additionally exports tens of millions of cubic metres of fuel a day to Iraq to gas its energy crops, below a frequently renewed waiver from US sanctions.
Iraq is billions of {dollars} in arrears on its funds for the imports, which cowl 30 % of its electrical energy wants.
In September final 12 months, the 2 nations began development of their first rail hyperlink — a 32-kilometre (20-mile) line between Iraq’s southern port metropolis of Basra and the Shalamcheh border crossing, the place it should be part of up with the Iranian rail community.
– US troop drawdown –
Washington nonetheless has round 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in neighbouring Syria as a part of a global coalition towards the Islamic State jihadist group.
Final winter, US-led coalition forces in each Iraq and Syria had been focused dozens of occasions with drones and rocket hearth as violence associated to the Israel-Hamas battle in Gaza has drawn in Iran-backed armed teams throughout the Center East.
The barrage of assaults triggered retaliatory US air strikes in each nations.
On Sunday, Iraqi Defence Minister Thabet al-Abbassi informed pan-Arab tv channel Al-Hadath that the US-led coalition would pull out of most of Iraq by September 2025 and the Kurdish autonomous area by September 2026.
Regardless of months of talks, the goal dates have but to be agreed between Baghdad and Washington.
Pezeshkian may even journey to the Kurdish regional capital Arbil for talks with Kurdish officers, Iran’s official IRNA information company mentioned.
In March final 12 months, Tehran signed a safety settlement with the federal authorities in Baghdad after launching air strikes towards bases of Iranian Kurdish insurgent teams within the autonomous area.
They’ve since agreed to disarm the rebels and take away them from border areas.
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