Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf arrived in Baghdad on Wednesday for a three-day visit aimed at deepening bilateral ties and rallying what he called a "new regional order" free from foreign interference. The trip comes as Iraq faces pressure from Washington to disarm Tehran-backed armed factions, with Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi setting a September 30 deadline for the groups to lay down their weapons.
Qalibaf laid a wreath at a monument honouring Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, killed in a 2020 US strike, and called Iran-Iraq relations "fundamental and pivotal" to regional stability. He is scheduled to meet al-Zaidi, the president, and parliament speaker to discuss security, economic cooperation, and fallout from the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran that began in late February.
The visit will include stops in Karbala and Najaf, where Qalibaf will attend memorial ceremonies for Iran's late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, killed on February 28.