ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The parliamentary speakers of Iraq and Iran met in Tehran on Monday to discuss legislative cooperation on regional border security and the strengthening of economic and political ties between the two countries, Iranian state media reported.
“The relationship between the parliaments of the two countries, the regional situation, especially the consequences of the Gaza war, and developments in Syria were discussed,” Iraqi parliament speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani said during a presser with his Iranian counterpart Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf, as reported by Iran’s state IRNA news agency.
“Iraq does not allow any kind of aggression against the region,” Mashhadani said, emphasizing the need to support regional stability.
The Middle East was shaken late last year when a coalition of rebels led by the Islamist Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) toppled Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria.
Iran was a staunch supporter of Assad’s Syria.
“Both countries are determined to be on the front of resistance to defend Islam and the dignity of the Islamic nation, and to support it, as well as to develop political and economic relations between the two countries,” Ghalibaf said in the presser.
He also touched on the agreements signed during Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s September visit to Baghdad, stressing the need to ensure their implementation.
Mashhadani also met with Pezeshkian, where the Iranian leader stressed that a new Syrian government must be “inclusive” and one that will “prevent the sinister goals of the enemies of regional security and stability from being realized.”
Iran and Iraq have shared a strong relationship since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Tehran has increased its influence over Baghdad, and the country has dozens of armed groups that are affiliated with the Shiite rule in Iran.
Iran is also a major trading partner for Iraq. Since the overthrow of the Hussein regime, Iraq has become an important destination for Iranian goods.
