Iran president says 14 agreements signed with Iraq to expand ties

BAGHDAD: Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, announced that over a dozen agreements were signed with Iraq on Wednesday during his visit to the neighbouring country.

“Fourteen cooperation memorandums were signed between Iran and Iraq, which is the starting point of the expansion of cooperation,” Pezeshkian said, standing alongside Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.

On his first visit abroad since taking office, Pezeshkian also said he had discussed with his Iraqi host “strategic and long-term plans that will lead to greater cooperation between the two countries”.

“If we are together, we will avoid falling into the fire,” he said.

Ties between Iran and Iraq, both Shiite-majority countries, have grown closer since the US-led invasion of 2003 toppled the Sunni-dominated regime of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

Pezeshkian has vowed to make relations with neighbouring countries a priority as he seeks to ease Iran’s international isolation and mitigate the impact of US-led sanctions on its economy.

Iran has become one of Iraq’s leading trade partners, and wields considerable political influence in Baghdad, where its Iraqi allies dominate parliament and the current government.