TEHRAN – Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad al-Sudani will arrive in Tehran on Tuesday for an official visit at the invitation of Iranian President Ayatollah Seyed Ebrahim Raisi, Iranian and Iraqi officials said. 

Nasser Kanaani, the spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry, confirmed in a press conference on Monday that the new Iraqi prime minister will pay a visit to Iran on Tuesday. 

Earlier, Qassem al-Araji, Iraq’s national security advisor, had said that the visit will take place on Tuesday. 

Al-Sudani was to visit Iran on Monday.

The upcoming visit will be the first for al-Sudani in his capacity as Iraq’s prime minister. This will be the prime minister’s third foreign visit after recent trips to Jordan and Kuwait.

On Saturday, Iranian Ambassador to Iraq Mohammad Kazem Al Sadeq met with the Iraqi prime minister.

“The meeting dealt with discussing a number of common issues in the economic and investment aspects, and it was also emphasized that the meetings between Iraq and Iran will continue in the security issue, in a manner that preserves the sovereignty of the two countries, achieves the interests of the two friendly peoples, and consolidates the security and stability of the region,” a statement by the Iraqi prime minister’s office said. 

During the meeting, the Iranian ambassador conveyed the invitation of President Raisi to the Iraqi prime minister to visit Iran.

Arab press reports said two regional issues will dominate the agenda of al-Sudani during his visit to Tehran: Iran’s shelling of Iranian Kurdish separatist groups that are based in Iraqi Kurdistan and the Iraqi mediation between Tehran and Riyadh. 

Qatari-owned Al-Araby Al-Jadeed newspaper reported Monday that the Iraqi prime minister will “discuss several files, including the Iranian bombing, while he will visit Saudi Arabia at the beginning of next month, in order to push Riyadh to complete dialogue and negotiation with Tehran in order to restore diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Citing an Iraqi official at the Iraqi prime minister’s office, the newspaper said, “Al-Sudani will pay an official visit to Tehran next Tuesday, and he will be at the head of a large government delegation that includes ministers and officials, where he will discuss with Iranian officials a number of common files.”

The official added that al-Sudani's talks in Tehran will focus on the issue of activating Iraqi mediation between Iran and Saudi Arabia, as well as security issues related to the Iranian bombing of Iraqi border territories, the presence of Kurdish opposition parties inside the Kurdistan region, and other security files related to securing and controlling borders.”

The official noted that al-Sudani will discuss with Tehran economic issues related to railway connectivity, energy issues and other economic files related to trade exchanges between the two countries, as well as energy issues related to oil and gas.

The official said that al-Sudani's next stop after Tehran will be Saudi Arabia, where he will visit early next month in order to participate in the Arab-Chinese summit. In Saudi Arabia, the official continued, the Iraqi prime minister will discuss economic and investment issues in Saudi Arabia, in addition to the issue of Iraqi mediation between Riyadh and Tehran, stressing that the government intends to host a new dialogue in the capital, Baghdad, during the coming period.

The Iraqi National Security Adviser, Qassem al-Araji, said that there is an understanding between Baghdad and Erbil regarding the Iranian bombing, indicating that a higher committee will be formed to reach an understanding with Tehran and Turkey to find appropriate solutions.

According to al-Araji, al-Sudani will discuss, during his visit to Tehran, the bombing seriously and in detail.

Last Thursday, the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the continuation of Baghdad's mediation between Riyadh and Tehran, noting that the Iranian-Saudi dialogue had moved from its security track to a diplomatic one.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein has recently praised Iraqi-Iraq relations. 

“Our relations with neighboring Iran are strong, and we, in fact, through many times, seek to restore Iranian-[Persian] Gulf relations because this is in the interest of Iraq, because whenever there is security in the region, the collective security in the region reflects positively on the security situation inside Iraq, so we seek to restore relations between neighboring countries,” he said. “In this context, the first Baghdad conference was held, and the second version of the Baghdad conference will be held in Jordan.”

Hussein pointed out Iraq’s endeavor to restore relations with neighboring countries in order to ensure the security of the region, noting that collective security in the region reflects positively on the security situation inside his country.

The Iraqi foreign minister made the remarks in an interview with the Bahraini Al Watan newspaper.

Responding to a question on Iraq’s mediatory efforts in the region, Hussein referred to Baghdad’s mediation between Iran and Saudi Arabia. “Iraqi efforts are known, and there have been meetings between Saudi Arabia and Iran through Iraqi efforts, and if the two capitals are ready to sit again, we are ready to help,” he noted. 

The Iraqi foreign minister added, “We are trying to create a specific situation to reach calm in the region for the benefit of all, because the tensions in the region are reflected in the internal conditions, and therefore internal security is related to security and the regional security situation. That is why we seek to create a good regional security situation to be reflected in the security situation in these countries, including Iraq, of course.”