New President will visit Iraq, Supreme Leader Khamenei signals to erase "red line" with the US?

New Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will make his first official visit to Iraq next September.

New Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. (Source: IRNA)

On August 28, Iranian Ambassador to Iraq Mohammad Kazem Al Sadegh confirmed the visit and said that President Pezeshkian would lead a high-level delegation and sign a number of important agreements.

According to Shafaq News , this trip took place at the invitation of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, expected to last from September 11-13.

President Pezeshkian will visit Baghdad and possibly the Kurdistan region and Basra, places his predecessor Ebrahim Raisi had planned to visit.

The visit comes ahead of Mr. Pezeshkian’s attendance at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in late September 2024. According to analysts, Iran considers Iraq a top foreign policy priority, while Baghdad seeks to avoid tensions between Tehran and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

Trade relations between the two countries have grown in recent years. Iraq depends on Iranian gas to fuel its power plants and considers Iran an important trading partner, especially in the construction, food and beverage sectors.

In another development, recently, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei declared that there are "no barriers" in restarting nuclear negotiations with the US, but also noted: "We do not need to put our hopes on the other side or wait for their approval."

The statement by the person who has a decisive voice in Iran's strategic issues is seen as a sign allowing the government of President Masoud Pezeshkian to remove "red lines" and negotiate with the US on Iran's nuclear program.

Commenting on the above statement, the US State Department once again affirmed that the country considers diplomacy the best way to achieve an effective and sustainable solution regarding Iran's nuclear program.

“If Iran wants to demonstrate seriousness or a new approach, it should stop its nuclear development and start voluntarily cooperating with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),” the ministry stressed.

The nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was signed in 2015 between Iran and major powers. In 2018, then-US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew Washington from the deal. Negotiations restarted in mid-2022 and have remained deadlocked.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/iran-tan-tong-thong-se-tham-iraq-lanh-dao-toi-cao-khamenei-bat-tin-hieu-xoa-lan-ranh-do-voi-my-284287.html