On 19 August, the first day of his visit to Iraq, the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, held talks with the neighbouring country’s Prime Minister, Ali Faleh al-Zaidi.
Galibaf described the aim of his visit as ‘strengthening the new order in the region and accelerating the consolidation of cooperation between all countries in the region without foreign interference’.
The visit comes against the backdrop of intensified efforts in recent months, following the improvement in relations between Iraq and the US, to disarm Iranian-backed Iraqi armed groups.
Under pressure from the United States, the Iraqi government has given these groups until 30 September to hand over their weapons. This date coincides with the conclusion of the US-led international coalition’s mission against the ‘Islamic State’ group.