The visit will mark Kadhimi’s first meeting with Ebrahim Raisi since he took office last month and comes ahead of Iraq’s October 10 legislative polls.

Kadhimi will raise “issues of security, energy, and relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran” with Raisi, a government source said, requesting anonymity, according to The Arab Weekly.

Baghdad has been brokering talks since April between U.S. ally Riyadh and Tehran on mending ties severed in 2016.

Last month Iraq hosted a summit of regional leaders, attended by the foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia as well as French President Emmanuel Macron.

A politician close to the premier said Iraq, which hosted the private meetings earlier this year between Saudi and Iranian officials, had received “positive signals” from Tehran and Persian Gulf states that they were ready for more direct discussions.

“We have always welcomed improving ties with regional countries such as Saudi Arabia, and it is a priority of our President Raisi’s foreign policy,” said a senior Iranian official.

Iran’s ambassador to Baghdad, Iraj Masjedi  has said so far Iraq has hosted three rounds of talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia, ISNA reported on August 31.

Masjedi also said the fourth round of talks will be held in Baghdad. He said it will be the first meeting since Raisi took power in Iran.

The diplomat did not give details about the ranking of the negotiators.

Ambassador Masjedi called Iran a great country with a rich civilization which is ready for dialogue with countries, including Saudi Arabia.

“Iran has announced its readiness for negotiations and peace and has extended its hand for helping neighboring countries and the region,” the ambassador remarked.

Masjedi added that there should be no worries about Iran, saying it is the enemies which have been promoting Iranophobia.

“The position of Iran is transparent and quite friendly,” the ambassador remarked.

“Energy talks”

Iraq is highly dependent on Iranian imports and the Islamic Republic supplies a third of Iraq’s gas and electricity needs. However, Baghdad currently owes Tehran six billion dollars for energy supplied.

Sunday’s meeting is also expected to address the issue of visas for Iranian pilgrims travelling to Shia holy sites in Iraq.

Iraqi authorities late Thursday announced new quotas for foreign pilgrims for the Arbaeen pilgrimage in the Shia shrine city of Karbala later this month.

Kadhimi’s office said that 60,000 Iranian pilgrims would be allowed to attend, up from 30,000 previously announced.

Arbaeen marks the end of the 40-day mourning period for the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (AS), grandson of the Prophet Mohammed (S), by the forces of the caliph Yazid in 680 AD.

The number of visas issued to foreign pilgrims has dropped sharply in the past two years due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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Rouhani congratulated the government and people of Iraq on Eid al-Adha, adding, “For the Islamic Republic of Iran, supporting stability and security, independence and territorial integrity of Iraq has a special importance, and we consider the security and stability of Iraq as our own security, and we support the presence of this neighboring Muslim country in regional interactions,” according to a statement by the Iranian presidency.

Rouhani said that the Americans are playing a double game in the fight against terrorism and their actions on the Iraqi-Syrian border have been against the interests of the region, adding, “These days we are witnessing the United States’ complicated game in Iraq and it is natural that this policy will not help bring security and stability to Iraq, but complicate the situation.”

Pointing out that the Americans have always played a destructive role in the region, the president stressed Iran’s opposition to any foreign intervention in the region and said, “The problems of the region must be resolved by the countries of the region themselves.”

Rouhani referred to the high capacity of cooperation between Tehran and Baghdad in economic and trade fields, and stressed the need to implement and operationalize previous agreements, including the important Shalamcheh-Basra railway project, as well as defining the economic cooperation roadmap and developing an economic strategy.

“Iran and Iraq can complement each other as two complementary economies by developing their cooperation,” the president added.

In this conversation, al-Kadhimi congratulated the government and people of Iran on Eid al-Adha, describing relations between the two countries as very friendly and strong. The prime minister stressed efforts to develop and deepen relations and continue bilateral cooperation.

The Iraqi prime minister added, “Over the past 8 years, with your efforts and management, we have witnessed an increase in the level of bilateral, regional and international cooperation between Baghdad and Tehran, and good agreements have been reached between the two countries to cooperate in joint projects.”

Al-Kadhimi also appreciated the Iranian government and people for supporting the Iraqi government and people in the fight against terrorism and Daesh, as well as for establishing peace, stability and security in the country.

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“We explained to them that the decision could have negative impacts on Iraq and the entire region, and that such escalation could further disturb the region,” Abdul Mahdi said, Xinhua reported.

“We have told Iran and America that we do not want Iraq to be a field of conflicts,” he added.

Trump administration announced Monday that it is designating Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a foreign terrorist organization. In response to this unprecedented measure against the military force of another country, the Iranian Supreme National Security Council accused the US government of supporting terrorism and recognized the US Central Command (CENTCOM) as a terrorist organization.

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During the visit, Hemmati will hold meetings with the Iraqi central bank chief and some other Iraqi banking and financial officials.

This will be the third visit by him to Iraq since the start of 2019. During a visit of an Iranian banking delegation headed by Hemmati to the neighboring country back in February the central banks of Iran and Iraq signed an agreement to remove barriers to bilateral financial and banking relations in the face of US anti-Iran sanctions. The deal focuses on a new mechanism to facilitate the repayment of Iraq’s electricity and gas dues to Iran and open a channel for the businesses of the two countries to conduct their mutual transactions.

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“The Islamic Republic of Iran helped us in the fight against terrorism and we managed to achieve many victories that contributed to the current peace and stability in Iraq,” Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi said at the presser. “Today, [leaders] from all around the world visit Iraq, and we are witness to a transformation that is to the benefit of both the Iraqi people and the rest of the countries in the region.”

We believe that it was due to Iran’s support that Iraq succeeded in reaching this point, he added.

“We are seeking to further expand relations between Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Adil Abdul-Mahdi stressed.

He went on on to add that Iraq also seeks to develop ties with Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, UAE, Egypt and other countries in the Middle East region.

“We seek to establish a stable and peaceful region in which the era of wars has come to an end,” he said, adding that the only solution to Yemeni crisis is a political approach.

The Iraqi prime minister also stressed that his country is resolved to prevent any groups from using its soil to launch threats against Iran.

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This is the first visit of Abdul-Mahdi to Tehran which follows the official invitation of Rouhani, who had paid a five-day visit to Baghdad in March.

Heading a high-ranking politico-economic delegation, Abdul-Mahdi is scheduled to hold separate talks with senior governmental figures, including Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

The Iraqi official will also take part in the third Iran-Iraq economic forum, which will be attended by a number of businesspersons of the two neighboring countries.
On the second day of his trip, he will make a visit to the holy shrine of Imam Reza (PBUH), the eighth Shia Imam, in the northeastern city of Mashhad.

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The official made the remarks in a joint press conference on Sunday, which was also attended with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif and Iran’s Ambassador to Iraq Iraj Masjedi.

He expressed hope that President Rouhani’s meetings with Iraqi President Barham Salih and Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi will bear the maximum results and help promote cooperation between the two countries in all areas.

Heading a high-ranking politico-economic delegation, Rouhani is set to embark on a three-day visit to Baghdad tomorrow (March 11).

According to Zarif, Rouhani is scheduled to discuss political and economic cooperation in various fields including transit, energy, and industry with the Iraqi officials.

Besides meeting with senior political figures, the Iranian president is set to visit the holy city of Najaf and meet with the great Shia Marja’ Ayatollah Ali Sistani.

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 Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, Abbas Araghchi, met and held talks with Iraqi Prime Minister, Adil Abdul-Mahdi, on the latest status of the two countries’ bilateral relations.

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