Newly elected Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wanted to deepen ties with neighboring Iraq during his first foreign trip, Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported on Wednesday.
Government representatives of both countries signed 14 agreements on cooperation in the fields of economy, culture and religion at the start of Pezeshkian’s three-day visit, IRNA reported.
Pezeshkian described the visit as the “beginning of an era of deeper cooperation.”
He will be the first president in the history of the Islamic Republic to visit the partially autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq.
The IRNA report found that one cooperation agreement had not been signed, but it was not clear which agreement was missing.
Although Tehran has continued to expand its influence in Iraq in recent years, tensions remain, particularly over the presence of US troops in Iraq.
Iraq also maintains relations with the West, in contrast to the isolation imposed by the West on its leaders in Tehran. Iran’s support for Russia in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine has led to further Western sanctions.
After ousting Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003, Tehran built up militias in Iraq, as well as in Syria and Lebanon with the help of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), creating a network of allied groups in the fight against Israel, the country’s arch-enemy.
Tehran has repeatedly expressed security concerns over Kurdish separatists and opposition groups in Iraq. Iran is home to a significant Kurdish minority.
Tehran sees Iraq as an important economic partner and a “gateway to the Arab world.” Despite sanctions, Iran remains a major supplier of gas and electricity.
According to reports, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani and his government have been negotiating on behalf of Tehran with other Arab countries, including Egypt, that maintain cool relations with Tehran.
