The Iranian President Sheikh Hasan Rouhani arrived on Monday in Baghdad, starting a strategic official visit to the neighboring country.

According to Press TV, the trip  has been viewed by experts as Iran’s response to US President Donald Trump’s snap trip to Iraq in December.

Trump slipped into Iraq on Christmas and spent most of his short visit outlining how he wanted to keep US troops in the Arab country in order to “watch” Iran with which Iraq shares a 1,400-kilometer-long border.

Reacting to Trump’s secret visit, Rouhani asserted that flying into Iraq under the cover of darkness meant “defeat” for the US in Iraq and asked the US president why he did not opt for an “open and official visit” instead.

During a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart Borhom Saleh, President Rouhani highlighted the importance of reinforcing the mutual ties between the two countries, especially in the field of the counter-terrorism.

For his part, President Saleh thanked Sheikh Rouhani for the Iranian support to Iraq in face of terror danger, reiterating the importance of the mutual relations between the two countries in sustaining the national and regional stability.

Source: Al-Manar English Website