Iranian FM meets Iraq's acting president, PM

Iran's visiting Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met with Iraq's Acting President Khudayr Musa Jafar Abbas al-Khuzai and Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki in Baghdad on Sunday. At the meeting with Khuzai, the Iranian foreign minister discussed bilateral ties between Tehran and Baghdad and the most important developments in the region. Zarif conveyed President Hassan Rouhani's greetings to the Iraqi acting president and appreciated his presence in Rouhani's swearing-in ceremony in early August in Tehran. Later today, Zarif met with the Iraqi premier and appreciated Maliki's congratulatory message to the Iranian vice-president, Eshaq Jahangiri, on his appointment to the post. The two sides also discussed the latest conditions in the relations between Tehran and Baghdad and the recent developments in the region. The Syrian crisis is believed to be high on the agenda of Zarif's talks with Iraqi officials. The Iranian foreign minister in his first foreign trip arrived in Baghdad earlier today to discuss bilateral ties and regional issues with high-ranking Iraqi officials. "That we have decided to take our first trip to the friendly and brotherly country of Iraq indicates the importance of relations with the neighbors, specially Iraq, for the Islamic Republic and for the Government of Prudence and Hope (as President Rouhani called it during his presidential campaign)," Zarif told reporters upon arrival at Baghdad airport. The Iranian top diplomat said that he was due to confer on the bilateral issues and the current "dangerous regional conditions" with Iraqi officials. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, who had come to the airport to welcome his Iranian counterpart, also underlined the necessity for the further strengthening of ties with Tehran. Iran and Iraq have enjoyed growing ties ever since the overthrow of the former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, in 2003. Both sides are working on a series of plans to take wide strides in expanding their ties, in economic fields in particular.