Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani arrived in Iraq on Monday for his first official visit, state television said, as Baghdad is under pressure from Washington to limit ties with its neighbor.
Before leaving Tehran, Rouhani hailed the “special” relations between Iran and Iraq, saying they could not be compared to Baghdad’s ties “with an aggressor country like America”.
His visit to Iraq is the first since he became president in 2013.
“Iran-Iraq relations are special,” Rouhani said at Tehran’s Mehrabad airport before flying to Baghdad, Iranian state television reported, adding that Tehran was always ready to help its neighbors.
“America is despised in the region. The bombs that the Americans dropped on Iraqis, Syrian people and other countries cannot be forgotten,” he added.
Baghdad has been under pressure from Washington to limit ties with its neighbour, particularly
During the visit, Rouhani is set to meet Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi and President Barham Saleh, as well as the country’s chief Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, according to the Iranian government’s website.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif preceded Rouhani to Iraq to prepare for the visit.
Source: AFP
