Iran's President Pezeshkian to visit Iraq next month in first official trip abroad

Tehran has wide political influence in neighbouring Iraq and holds significant power over some armed groups

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian is due to visit Iraq in a trip lasting three days. AFP

Iran’s newly elected President Masoud Pezeshkian will visit Iraq next month in his first official trip abroad having accepted an invitation, Iranian and Iraqi officials have confirmed.

An Iraqi Foreign Ministry official told The National the visit will be last three days, starting on September 11. Arrangements are under way, he said, to add Kurdistan and Basra to the schedule, places the former president, the late Ebrahim Raisi, had planned to visit.

Iran's ambassador to Iraq, Mohammad Kazem Al Sadegh, also confirmed the trip to Iranian news agency Irna.

Another senior Iraqi political official and an Iranian journalist in Baghdad also confirmed the visit to The National and said it would take place before Mr Pezeshkian attends the UN General Assembly in New York towards the end of next month.

Mr Pezeshkian’s visit “was made according to an invitation from PM Al Sudani”, the Iraqi source said.

In his remarks to Irna, Mr Al Sadegh said the President would lead a high-ranking delegation and sign a number of agreements that were supposed to have been signed by the heads of the two states during a visit by Mr Raisi. Mr Pezeshkian was elected after the death of Mr Raisi in a helicopter crash in May.

That Mr Pezeshkian’s first trip abroad is to Iraq is unsurprising: the Iranian government has said it will continue a foreign policy focused on strengthening Iran’s relations with neighbouring countries.

“The Iranians want to show the importance of Iraq in their foreign policy as the first priority,” the Iraqi source said.

On Iraq's part, it is trying to avoid any escalation between Iran and GCC member states, in fear of conflict spreading to it soil, said Javad Heirannia, a Tehran-based researcher and analyst.

"Iraq does not want to be the scene of conflict between Iran and the United States in one hand, and Iran and the Persian Gulf Sunni Arabs, on the other hand,” he told The National.

Iran has widespread political influence in Iraq, where it holds significant power over some armed groups in the Popular Mobilisation Forces. Trade ties are also significant. Iraq relies on gas imported from Iran via two cross border pipelines to fuel many of its power stations and keep electricity supplies running.

Iran also sees Iraq as a major trade partner: given sanctions that limit its reach in other markets, including in Europe, Iraq has large potential for importing Iranian goods, in sectors from construction to food and drink.

Iran and Iraq have a complex and long-running relationship. The 1980-88 war left an indelible mark on both countries, killing more than a million people and solidifying the rule of Ayatollah Khomeini, former Iranian supreme leader. Iranian influence in Baghdad increased significantly during the conflict that followed the 2003 US-led invasion, with Iran backing some of the Shiite armed groups that formed part of the insurgency against the American presence and building relationships with successive Iraqi governments.

In recent years, many Iraqis have expressed anger over Iranian influence in their country's politics, especially its support for armed groups widely accused of violently suppressing peaceful protesters.

For its part, Iran has accused Iraq of sheltering Iranian-Kurdish opposition groups that it deems threatening. Last year, the two countries signed a security agreement in which Baghdad agreed to have the Iranian-Kurdish dissidents move away from the Iranian border and settle in camps closer to Erbil, in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Iran had previously accused the Kurdistan Regional Government of taking insufficient action against the Iranian-Kurdish exiles and had attacked their bases on numerous occasions using ballistic missiles. Following the signing of the security agreement with Baghdad, Tehran's concerns appear to have been allayed as it has not launched subsequent strikes.

Iran has generally had less easy relations with Kurdistan than with the central government in Baghdad and on a number of occasions Iraqi-Kurdish businessmen's homes have been targeted.

It remains unclear if Mr Pezeshkian will visit Erbil on his trip but the Kurdistan Region's President, Nechervan Barzani, travelled to Tehran to meet his Iranian counterpart on his first day in office, suggesting a keen interest in strengthening the relationship.