Iraq and Iran signed 14 memorandums on Wednesday to strengthen cooperation and consolidate already strategic ties, in the presence of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who chose Baghdad for his first foreign visit since his election.
Iran and Iraq on Wednesday signed more than a dozen agreements to deepen already strong ties as Masoud Pezeshkian visited Baghdad on his first foreign trip as president of the Islamic republic.
The three-day trip comes amid turmoil in the Middle East sparked by the war in Gaza, which has drawn in Iran-backed armed groups and complicated Iraq’s relations with the United States.
Speaking at a press conference alongside Pezeshkian, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said both governments opposed any expansion of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
“In light of the escalation that the region has been going through, we have spoken a lot about the importance of stability,” Sudani said, blaming Israel for the regional spillover of the war.
Pezeshkian announced that “14 cooperation memorandums were signed between Iran and Iraq, which is the starting point of the expansion of cooperation”.
“If we are together, we will avoid falling into the fire,” he added.
‘Neutralise Pressure of Sanctions’
Pezeshkian has vowed to make relations with neighbouring countries a priority as he seeks to ease Iran’s international isolation and mitigate the impact of US-led sanctions on its economy.
Hours before Pezeshkian’s arrival, an explosion rocked a US diplomatic base at Baghdad’s international airport but caused no casualties, according to the US embassy.
Ties between Iran and Iraq, both Shiite-majority countries, have grown closer since the US-led invasion of 2003 toppled the Sunni-dominated regime of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
Iran has suffered years of crippling Western sanctions, especially after its arch-foe the United States, under then-president Donald Trump, unilaterally abandoned a landmark nuclear deal between the Islamic republic and major powers in 2018.
Key Trade Partners
Iran has become one of Iraq’s leading trade partners, and wields considerable political influence in Baghdad.
Every year, millions of Iranian pilgrims travel to Iraq’s Shiite holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, and Pezeshkian will also visit the shrines there during his visit.
Non-oil trade between Iran and Iraq stood at nearly $5 billion over the five months from March 2024, Iranian media reported.
Iran also exports millions of cubic metres of gas a day to Iraq to fuel its power plants, under a regularly renewed waiver from US sanctions.
Iraq is billions of dollars in arrears on its payments for the imports, which cover 30 percent of its electricity needs.
US Troop Drawdown
Washington still has around 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in neighbouring Syria as part of an international coalition against the Islamic State jihadist group.
Speaking to Iraqi media, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran was “very happy that the Iraqi parliament has approved the bill that calls for withdrawal of American forces from Iraq”.
“Peace and security will not be achieved in our region with the presence of foreign forces,” he added.
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Pezeshkian will also travel to the Kurdish regional capital Arbil for talks with Kurdish officials, Iran’s official IRNA news agency said.
In March last year, Tehran signed a security agreement with the federal government in Baghdad after launching air strikes against bases of Iranian Kurdish rebel groups in the autonomous region.
They have since agreed to disarm the rebels and remove them from border areas.
Christy Belle-Geha, with AFP
