“In the beginning, there was a protocol reception by the president [Rashid] and the Iraqi delegation, including yours truly. Later, there was a bilateral meeting between the two presidents in which no one apart from them was present. Afterwards, I asked the president [Rashid] in which language they spoke, and he said ‘Kurdish. A sweet Kurdish’,” said Hawre Tofiq, head of the relations and international organizations office at the Iraqi presidency.
The Iraqi president is a Kurd and Pezeshkian was born and raised in the predominantly-Kurdish city of Mahabad, northwestern Iran.
The Iranian president landed in Baghdad on Wednesday and was received by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani. Kurdish Peshmerga forces were also reportedly present as part of Iraq’s armed forces during the welcome ceremony.
The trip marks the Iranian president’s first foreign visit since assuming office in late July. After meeting with Rashid, the Pezeshkian told Rudaw’s Halkawt Aziz in Kurdish that Tehran is seeking “even better” relations with both Baghdad and Erbil.
Expanding cooperation across several sectors is a focus of the discussions with the visiting Iranian delegation, according to Tofiq.
“The Iranian president called for building a strategic program between Iraq and Iran, for a team of experts made up of Iraqi and Iranian officials to discuss and draft that important strategic program in the fields of economy, health, environment, and security,” he said.
Pezeshkian and Sudani on Wednesday oversaw the signing of 14 memoranda of understanding in several fields, including the economy, culture, and cooperation between chambers of commerce, according to a statement from the Iraqi prime minister’s office.
In addition to Baghdad, the Iranian president is also expected to visit Najaf, Basra, Erbil, and Sulaimani.
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 who are affiliated with the Shiite rule in Tehran.
“Their visit is especially important in providing political support for Iraq… The Iranians’ message is that they want to be friendly with all of Iraq’s components, including the Kurdistan Region,” Tofiq noted.
The Kurdistan Region and Iran also enjoy good ties. During a forum in Sulaimani in April, Barzani said that Iran has contributed to the economic “success” of the Kurdistan Region. The relationship has, however, been strained in recent years by Tehran’s attacks inside Kurdistan Region’s borders on exiled Kurdish groups and deadly missile strikes on locations that it alleged were Mossad bases. Erbil has vehemently rejected the claims.
Iraq and Iran signed a security pact in March 2023 that saw Baghdad agree to disarm Kurdish opposition groups and secure the border regions. Iran had threatened to use military action if Baghdad failed to fulfill the agreement.
