Iran parliament speaker Ghalibaf to visit Iraq for talks

Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, is set to visit Iraq on Wednesday for discussions, according to Iranian media reports. The delegation, comprising high-ranking members from the Iranian parliament, aims to address regional developments, strengthen collaboration between Tehran and Baghdad, and explore joint strategies to promote stability and security in the Middle East, as reported by Iran's Fars news agency.

This visit arrives as Iraq grapples with pressure from Washington to disarm influential armed factions backed by Iran. Baghdad has granted pro-Iranian groups until September 30 to comply with the disarmament deadline. Ghalibaf's trip follows a drone strike on the office of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region's prime minister, which Kurdish authorities initially attributed to Tehran, a claim denied by Iran.

Tehran's ambassador to Baghdad, Mohammad Kazem al-Sadeq, confirmed Ghalibaf's pre-planned visit, stating it would span two days.