Iran’s President Pezeshkian heads to Iraq on first foreign trip

Tehran looking to boost commercialized ties with neighbour amid tightening Western sanctions. 

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has arrived successful Iraq connected his archetypal authorities travel abroad, successful a bid to boost ties amid tightening Western sanctions.

Pezeshkian, a comparative mean who was elected successful July, started his three-day sojourn arsenic helium met Iraqi Prime Minister Shia al-Sudani connected Wednesday. During the trip, the president and his delegation are owed to motion a fig of agreements and sermon the Gaza warfare and the concern successful the Middle East with their Iraqi counterparts, Baghdad said.

The Iranian president visited a monument to Qassem Soleimani, the erstwhile caput of Iran‘s elite Quds Force – a portion of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) – who was killed successful a 2020 attack by the United States successful Baghdad.

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani (R) welcomes Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian successful Baghdad, September 11 [Murtada al-Sudani/Pool via AFP]

High connected Pezeshkian’s docket volition beryllium Israel’s warfare connected Gaza, which has drawn successful Iran-backed equipped groups astir the portion and analyzable Iraq’s relations with the US.

Expanding commercialized ties is besides 1 of Pezeshkian’s apical goals, said Iraqi governmental idiosyncratic Ali al-Baidar, noting that Iran needs “the Iraqi marketplace for its exports, conscionable arsenic it needs Iraq’s vigor imports”.

Pezeshkian volition besides question to the Kurdish determination capital, Erbil, for talks with Kurdish officials, according to Iran’s authoritative IRNA quality agency.

In March past year, Tehran signed a information statement with the national authorities successful Baghdad aft launching aerial raids against bases of Iranian Kurdish rebel groups successful the autonomous region.

They person since agreed to disarm the rebels and region them from borderline areas.

Absorbing US-led sanctions

During Pezeshkian’s visit, Iran and Iraq expect to motion galore agreements connected trade, agriculture and communications, according to the Iraqi premier minister’s office.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said connected Wednesday determination would beryllium astir 15 caller memorandums, including ones regarding information and politics.

The planned accords are portion a propulsion to enactment up Iran’s ties with neighbouring countries to easiness the stroke of US-led sanctions connected its economy.

Iran is 1 of Iraq’s starring commercialized partners, with non-oil commercialized betwixt the 2 countries astatine much than $5bn successful the past 5 months, according to Iranian media.

Iran besides exports millions of cubic metres of state a time to Iraq to substance its powerfulness plants nether a regularly renewed waiver from US sanctions.

On apical of its economical ties, Iran wields sizeable governmental power successful Baghdad, wherever its Iraqi allies predominate parliament and the existent government.

But Iraq besides maintains adjacent ties to the US, which inactive has immoderate 2,500 soldiers successful the state arsenic portion of an planetary conjugation against ISIL (ISIS).

Hours earlier Pezeshkian’s arrival, an detonation rocked a basal astatine an airdrome utilized by the US-led coalition, Iraqi information officials said.

The US embassy successful Iraq said connected Wednesday that a diplomatic installation astatine the airdrome had been targeted.

“There was an onslaught astatine the Baghdad Diplomatic Services Compound, a US diplomatic facility,” the embassy said successful a statement. “Fortunately, determination are nary reported casualties, and we are assessing the harm and its cause.”

A spokesperson for the Iranian-backed Hezbollah radical successful Iraq said Tuesday night’s “attack” aimed to “disrupt the Iranian president’s visit”.

Pezeshkian’s travel besides comes arsenic Iran faces caller sanctions from the US and respective European countries accusing it of supplying Russia with short-range missiles for usage against Ukraine.

Iran has suffered years of crippling Western sanctions, particularly aft the US unilaterally abandoned a landmark atomic woody betwixt Tehran and large powers successful 2018.

Pezeshkian has made the apical diplomat who negotiated the 2015 deal, Mohammad Javad Zarif, his vice president for strategical affairs arsenic portion of his bid for a much unfastened Iran.