According to Deputy Head of the Iranian President’s Office for Communications Ali-Reza Moezi, upon his arrival at Tehran Mehrabad International Airport, the prime minister of Iraq will be welcomed by Minister of Energy Ali-Reza Ardekanian, IRNA reported.

Later in the day, he will be officially welcomed by President Hassan Rouhani and the Iranian and Iraqi delegations will immediately start bilateral talks after the official welcoming ceremony.

Kadhimi has also exchanged views on issues of mutual interest during a private meeting with President Rouhani.

Later in the day, the Iranian and Iraqi high-ranking delegations will hold joint meetings. Iran’s First Vice-President Es’haq Jahangiri and the Iraqi prime minister will co-host the meetings.

Moezi stressed that during his two-day stay in Tehran, Kadhimi will also meet Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf in separate events.

Prime Minister Kadhimi will be accompanied by ministers of foreign affairs, oil, energy, finance, defense, and health as well as the national security advisor of Iraq.

Kadhimi, also Iraq’s intelligence chief and a former journalist, formally took office on May 7, after six months that Iraq had no cabinet due to disputes among its political parties.

His move came hours after parliament failed for the second time in a week to approve his cabinet amid political infighting in the oil producer, where mass protests and deadlock between lawmakers are delaying Iraq’s recovery from years of war.

Allawi’s appointment was meant to ease a crisis as the country faces a mass protest movement that broke out in October and brought down Adel Abdul-Mahdi, the then-prime minister.

President Barham Salih will begin consultations to choose a new candidate for a new prime minister within 15 days, the state news agency said.

Salih appointed Allawi after squabbling lawmakers from rival parties failed for two months to decide on a successor to Abdul-Mahdi, who resigned in November during mass unrest. Iraqi prime minister, Allawi had one month to form a government that was meant to organize early elections.

“I tried by all possible means to save Iraq from drifting to the unknown and to solve the current crisis, but during negotiations, I faced many matters,” Allawi said in a statement, accusing politicians he did not identify of not being serious about reforms.

The protests, which initially demanded jobs and services, quickly turned into calls for the removal of Iraq’s entire ruling elite. Protesters had opposed Allawi because they view him as part of the system they want to bring down.

Saturday’s announcement comes as Iraqis continue protests against corruption and economic situation for a fourth consecutive month, and two months after Adel Abdel Mahdi resigned from the post, according to AP.

Mohammed Allawi would run the country until early elections can be held. He must form a new government within a month.

President Barham Saleh had told Iraq’s Parliament that he would name his own candidate unless it nominated someone by February 1.

Allawi, 65, in a video he posted to Twitter, said Saleh had named him and that he would form a new government in line with protesters’ demands.

“I decided the first to do was to speak to you [Iraqi people] directly before I address anyone else because my authority comes from you,” he said.

“This is your country, this is your right … all we have to do is execute your demands. We have to protect you instead of repressing you,” he added.

In his address, Allawi also pledged to restore the country’s battered economy and fight corruption.

Three Iraqi officials said Allawi was named prime minister-designate by rival Iraqi factions earlier on Saturday.

“If it wasn’t for your sacrifices and courage there wouldn’t have been any change in the country,” Allawi said addressing protesters. “I have faith in you and ask you to continue with the protests.”

Allawi was born in Baghdad and served as communications minister first in 2006 and again between 2010 and 2012. He resigned from his post after a dispute with former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Parliament is expected to put his candidacy to a vote in the next session, after which point he has 30 days to formulate a government program and select a cabinet of ministers.

Iraqi PM Adel Abdel Mahdi said Friday he would submit his resignation to Parliament following a spike in the death toll among protesters.

Parliament opened its session on Sunday afternoon and within minutes had approved Abdel Mahdi’s resignation, which according to the constitution renders him and the entire cabinet a “caretaker government.”

The legislature enacted Abdul-Mahdi’s resignation without putting it to a vote, according to two lawmakers in attendance. Existing laws do not provide clear procedures for members of parliament to recognize the prime minister’s resignation. Lawmakers acted on the legal opinion of the federal supreme court for Sunday’s session.

“According to the federal court’s interpretation there is no need to vote,” said lawmaker Sarkwat Shamsedine, during the session.

Lawmaker Mohamed al-Daraji said that Parliament faced a “black hole in the constitution” that didn’t clearly set out how members of Parliament should deal with a premier’s resignation.

The speaker of Parliament said he would now ask President Barham Saleh to name a new prime minister.

Just before the session began, another protester was shot dead in the capital, medical sources said.

The protests are Iraq’s biggest since the US-led invasion of 2003.

More than 20 people were killed in the holy Shia city of Najaf, 40 people in Nasiriyah and three in the capital, Baghdad, in three consecutive days of violence.

On Sunday, calm was restored in Nasiriyah, the birthplace of Abdel Mahdi, who came to power just a year ago based on a shaky alliance between rival parties.

He had resisted protesters’ calls for him to step down over the past two months.

But the violence turned the tide this week, as it prompted Iraq’s Shia spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, to call on Parliament to drop its support for the premier.

In quick succession, political factions indicated they would support a no-confidence motion.