International Courant
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has arrived in Iraq for his first state go to overseas, searching for to strengthen ties with Iraq as Western sanctions tighten.
Pezeshkian, a relative reasonable who was elected in July, started his three-day go to by assembly Iraqi Prime Minister Shia al-Sudani on Wednesday. Throughout the journey, the president and his delegation will signal numerous agreements and talk about the warfare in Gaza and the state of affairs within the Center East with their Iraqi counterparts, Baghdad stated.
The Iranian president visited a monument to Qassem Soleimani, the previous chief of Iran’s elite Quds Drive – a part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) – who was killed in a US strike in Baghdad in 2020.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani (R) welcomes Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Baghdad, September 11 (Murtada al-Sudani/Pool by way of AFP)
Excessive on Pezeshkian’s agenda is Israel’s warfare on Gaza, which has attracted Iranian-backed armed teams to the area and sophisticated Iraqi-US relations.
Increasing commerce ties can be certainly one of Pezeshkian’s fundamental objectives, stated Iraqi political scientist Ali al-Baidar, who famous that Iran “wants the Iraqi marketplace for its exports, simply because it wants Iraqi power imports.”
In response to the official Iranian information company IRNA, Pezeshkian will even journey to the Kurdish regional capital Erbil to speak with Kurdish officers.
In March final 12 months, Tehran signed a safety accord with the federal authorities in Baghdad after it carried out airstrikes on bases of Iranian-Kurdish insurgent teams within the autonomous area.
They’ve now agreed to disarm the rebels and take away them from the border areas.
Absorbing US-led sanctions
Throughout Pezeshkian’s go to, Iran and Iraq are anticipated to signal a number of agreements within the areas of commerce, agriculture and communications, the Iraqi Prime Minister’s Workplace stated.
Iranian Overseas Minister Abbas Araghchi stated on Wednesday that about 15 new memoranda can be issued, together with ones on safety and politics.
The deliberate accords are a part of an effort to strengthen ties between Iran and neighboring nations and ease the affect of US sanctions on the economic system.
Iran is certainly one of Iraq’s most vital buying and selling companions. In response to Iranian media, non-oil commerce between the 2 nations exceeded $5 billion previously 5 months.
Iran additionally exports hundreds of thousands of cubic meters of gasoline per day to Iraq to gasoline its energy crops, for which it has been often exempted from U.S. sanctions.
Along with financial ties, Iran additionally has important political affect in Baghdad, the place Iraqi allies dominate parliament and the present authorities.
Iraq additionally maintains shut ties with the US, which nonetheless has some 2,500 troops within the nation as a part of a world coalition in opposition to ISIL (ISIS).
Hours earlier than Pezeshkian’s arrival, an explosion occurred at a base on an airfield utilized by the US-led coalition, Iraqi safety officers stated.
The U.S. Embassy in Iraq stated Wednesday {that a} diplomatic facility on the airport was focused.
“There was an assault on the Baghdad Diplomatic Companies Compound, a U.S. diplomatic facility,” the embassy stated in an announcement. “Happily, there have been no casualties reported and we’re assessing the injury and the trigger.”
A spokesman for the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Iraq stated Tuesday night time’s “assault” was geared toward “disrupting the go to of the Iranian president”.
Pezeshkian can be touring at a time when Iran is going through new sanctions from the U.S. and several other European nations. Iran is accused of supplying Russia with short-range missiles to be used in opposition to Ukraine.
Iran has suffered years of crippling Western sanctions, particularly after the US unilaterally pulled out of a historic nuclear deal between Tehran and main powers in 2018.
Pezeshkian has appointed the highest diplomat who negotiated the 2015 deal, Mohammad Javad Zarif, as his vp for strategic affairs as a part of his push for a extra open Iran.
Iranian President Pezeshkian Makes First Journey to Iraq | Commerce Warfare Information
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