Iraqi Prime Minister's Visit to Tehran, Days After Saudi Delegation's Trip to Baghdad

At the beginning of Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi's two-day visit to Iran, Hassan Rouhani expressed hope that trade volume between the two countries would reach $20 billion, and Abdul-Mahdi emphasized that his country seeks to expand relations with all countries in the region. Adil Abdul-Mahdi arrived at Mehrabad Airport on Saturday morning, April 6, and was officially welcomed by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at Saadabad Palace. In a joint press conference, Rouhani stated that the topics of discussion between him and the Iraqi Prime Minister included agreements reached during his recent trip to Baghdad, including the abolition of visas for citizens of both countries, dredging the Arvand River, and connecting the Shalamcheh and Basra railways. The Iranian President also mentioned, "The program for exporting electricity and gas, and hopefully oil in the future, will continue, and we are ready in this regard." After the re-imposition of all U.S. sanctions against Iran, the U.S. government granted Iraq a temporary permit to continue purchasing electricity from Iran, in addition to the temporary exemptions given to eight other countries that buy Iranian oil. Currently, Iraq imports about 30% of its electricity needs, mainly for consumption in Basra, from Iran, and the U.S. government recently extended Iraq's exemption in this regard for another three months. Brian Hook, the U.S. Special Representative for Iran, emphasized three weeks ago that the purpose of this exemption was "to help the Iraqis, not to help the Iranian regime," warning Iraqi banks and financial institutions to be cautious in their dealings with Iranian banks to avoid violating U.S. sanctions. Abdul-Mahdi: We seek relations with all countries in the region. Adil Abdul-Mahdi's visit to Tehran comes just days after a high-level Saudi delegation visited Baghdad. During the Saudi political-economic delegation's trip to Baghdad, the Saudi king allocated $1 billion for the construction of a sports complex in Iraq. The Iraqi Prime Minister emphasized in a joint press conference with Hassan Rouhani that his country not only seeks to expand and deepen relations with Iran but also wants these relations to serve as a model for deepening relations with other countries, from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to Jordan, Turkey, Egypt, and the UAE. Abdul-Mahdi also stressed that "Iraq seeks a stable region and the end of the era of wars," expressing his belief that "ending the war in Yemen and rebuilding the country has a political solution, and it is up to all of us to realize this." Hassan Rouhani had met and discussed with Iraqi officials during his trip to Iraq last month. Meanwhile, Arab media reported that simultaneously with the Iraqi Prime Minister's visit to Tehran, Iraqi officials announced that the al-Shib border crossing between the two countries was closed indefinitely due to flooding. Just hours before this announcement, it was reported that Iraqi border guards had arrested 44 Iranian citizens with "fake visas" at this crossing.