Iran’s new president arrived in Iraq on Wednesday morning. During the day, Tehran and Baghdad signed 14 cooperation agreements.
This is his first trip abroad since coming to power. Iran’s new President Massoud Pezeshkian arrived in Baghdad on Wednesday morning, welcomed by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Soudani. The aim of the visit: to strengthen ties between Iran and Iraq, in a context of increased tensions in the Middle East.
Political, economic and religious rapprochement
“We want to see Iraq develop, grow, become prosperous and strong on our borders, and any economic project that achieves this goal has our support.”said earlier, Abbas Araghchi, Iranian Foreign Minister.
A rapprochement between Tehran and Baghdad was indeed made during the day, materialized by the signing of fourteen agreements to strengthen cooperation between the two countries. Among the areas concerned: education, communications, agriculture, and the Iraqi-Iranian free zones.
The United States at the heart of tensions between Iran and Iraq
The continued presence of 2,500 US soldiers in Iraq remains a concern for Iran, which backs powerful Shiite militias in the country and has had hostile relations with Washington for decades.
Just before Massoud Pezeshkian arrived in Iraq, an explosion occurred at a site used by the US military near Baghdad International Airport. The circumstances of this incident are unknown.