Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who is currently in Pakistan as part of his tour of several Asian states, is reportedly going to visit Iraq on Saturday.
That was reported by the Iraqi news agency Al-Forat, which quoted an informed source as saying on Thursday.
The report did not name the source or give more details about the visit, but said that the Iranian top diplomat is expected to hold talks with top Iraqi officials on the latest regional developments and bilateral ties.
Iraq will be the sixth Asian destination of the Iranian top diplomat during the past few weeks. He has earlier visited Turkmenistan, India, Japan, and China, and is currently in Islamabad on an official trip.
The visit to Iraq will come amid efforts by the Baghdad government to mediate between Iran and the US as tensions escalate in the Persian Gulf.
The Iraqi prime minister said Tuesday that Baghdad would take measures to curtail concerns over a military confrontation between Iran and the United States. Adil Abdul Mahdi said Iraq will send delegations to Tehran and Washington to help ease tensions.
In reaction to the offer, Iran said it has no problem with the visit of the Iraqi delegation to Tehran, but the Islamic Republic will have its own say on the issue.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday at the end of a weekly cabinet session, Chief of Staff of the Iranian president Mahmoud Vaezi said, “If they want to send a delegation to Iran, we won’t make any opposition to the visit but the main issue is that we will have our own say.”
Tensions have recently mounted between Iran and the US with Washington deploying a carrier strike group to the Persian Gulf citing “intelligence” of an imminent Iranian attack on US interests in the region. Tehran has repeatedly said that it is not seeking to escalate tensions but it won’t be afraid if there is any.
Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani has stated Iran and Russia should promote…
Aid groups working in the Gaza Strip were hit by Israeli strikes even after coordinating…
Iranian football team Sepahan’s Portuguese coach Jose Morais announced that he has converted from Christianity…
Palestinian group Hamas has announced it remains committed to achieving an agreement with Israel to…
The vast amount of rubble including unexploded ordnance left by Israel's devastating war in the…
ABC News reported that the United States decided that three Israeli army units accused of…