FILE PHOTO: Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, speaks in defence of his cabinet selection at the parliament in Tehran, Iran, August 21, 2024. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/File Photo
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian headed for close ally Iraq on Wednesday, on his first official foreign trip, Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency reported on Wednesday.
Iraq hosts several Iran-aligned parties and armed groups. Tehran has been steadily increasing its sway in Iraq since a U.S.-led invasion toppled its enemy Saddam Hussein in 2003.
"We are planning to sign several agreements. We will meet senior Iraqi officials in Baghdad," Pezeshkian, a relative moderate, said ahead of his trip, according to Iran's state media.
Baghdad is also a close ally of Washington.
(Reporting by Elwely Elwelly; Editing by Michael Georgy and Christian Schmollinger)
