Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in Baghdad on Wednesday, marking his first official foreign visit since taking office, according to Iran’s state media. Iraq, a key strategic ally for both Tehran and Washington, has been central to regional power dynamics.
Shortly after his arrival, Pezeshkian visited a memorial at the site where Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s Quds Force, was assassinated in a U.S. drone strike in 2020. He was accompanied by Iraq’s Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein.
Since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, Iran has steadily increased its influence in Iraq, aligning with several political factions and armed groups in the country, which is a major oil producer.
Iraq, a rare partner of both the United States and Iran, currently hosts 2,500 U.S. troops and numerous Iran-backed militias integrated into its security forces. The country has experienced escalating attacks since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza in October.
Pezeshkian is also expected to visit Iraqi Kurdistan, a region where Iran has launched strikes in the past, accusing it of harboring Iranian separatist groups and agents of Israel. Baghdad has worked to address Tehran’s concerns, signing a security pact with Iran in 2023 aimed at relocating some members of these groups.
