Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, began a visit to Iraq, aiming to deepen already close ties with the neighbouring country on his first trip abroad since taking office.
The three-day trip comes amid turmoil in the Middle East sparked by the war in Gaza, which has drawn in Iran-backed armed groups around the region and complicated Iraq’s relations with the United States.
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.
His visit comes after Western powers announced fresh sanctions on Iran for supplying Russia with short-range missiles for use against Ukraine.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani warned Britain, France and Germany that they will face the appropriate and proportionate action for the hostile move.
Iraqi officials said hours before Pezeshkian’s arrival, an explosion rocked a base at the airport used by a US-led anti-jihadist coalition.
A spokesperson for the Iranian-backed Hezbollah Brigades in Iraq said Tuesday night’s “attack” aimed to “disrupt the Iranian president’s visit”.
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, who took office in July after an early election following the death of his predecessor Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, has previously linked shoring up ties to sanctions pressure.
Iran has suffered years of crippling Western sanctions, especially after its arch-foe the United States, under then-president Donald Trump, unilaterally abandoned a landmark nuclear deal between the Islamic republic and major powers in 2018.
Pezeshkian has made the top diplomat who negotiated the 2015 deal, Mohammad Javad Zarif, his vice president for strategic affairs as part of his bid for a more open Iran.