Iran and Iraq agree to boost ties in high-level meetings

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein has concluded a two-day diplomatic trip to Tehran, during which he met with top Iranian officials to discuss boosting political and economic ties, and the role of the United States in the region. On Saturday, Hussein met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, and parliament Speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf. The high-level meetings came after Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in July met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi in Tehran during his first trip abroad since taking office in early May after nearly six months of political deadlock. Rouhani told Hussein that Iran fully supports unity among Shia, Sunni, and Kurdish factions in Iraq and said US troops are a destabilising factor in the region. “We consider the presence of armed US troops in the region, whether in Iraq, Afghanistan or countries south of the Persian Gulf to be detrimental to security and stability of the region,” he said, according to the president’s website. It is a responsibility not just for Iran, but for any country with US forces on its soil, to try to end that presence, Rouhani said, adding that Iran supports an Iraqi parliament vote to expel US troops. style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; left: 0;">