Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian called Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on Friday to congratulate him on his “glorious success” in this week’s parliamentary election.
Sudani is the leader of an alliance of Shiite factions, some with close ties to Iran, and is currently negotiating the formation of a new coalition to remain in office.
“I hope that during the new term, our relations and cooperation in all areas will develop and deepen further,” Pezeshkian said, according to a statement from his office.
Iran and Iraq fought a brutal war between 1960 and 1988 but, after the 2003 US-led invasion overthrew Baghdad’s dictator Saddam Hussein, Tehran threw its support behind several Shiite factions.
Iran and Iraq now enjoy close ties and Tehran is keen to preserve its influence after its allies in Lebanon, Syria, Gaza and Yemen suffered severe military and political setbacks in recent years.
But Baghdad is also under pressure from the United States, which still has 2,500 troops in Iraq, to distance itself from Tehran.
Pezeshkian’s office said he had hailed the election as a “glorious success, conducted peacefully, and a factor strengthening the credibility and greatness of Iraq, a friendly and brotherly nation”.
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© Agence France-Presse
