“Relations with neighbouring international locations … can neutralise a big quantity of strain of the sanctions,” he stated final month.
Iran has suffered years of crippling Western sanctions, particularly after its arch-foe the US, beneath then-president Donald Trump, unilaterally deserted a landmark nuclear deal between the Islamic republic and main powers in 2018.
Pezeshkian has made the highest diplomat who negotiated the 2015 deal, Mohammad Javad Zarif, his vice chairman for strategic affairs as a part of his bid for a extra open Iran.
KEY TRADE PARTNERS
Iran has change into considered one of Iraq’s main commerce companions, and wields appreciable political affect in Baghdad, the place its Iraqi allies dominate parliament and the present authorities.
Yearly, thousands and thousands of Iranian pilgrims journey to Iraq’s Shiite holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, and Pezeshkian will even go to the shrines there throughout his go to.
Non-oil commerce between Iran and Iraq stood at practically US$5 billion over the 5 months from March 2024, Iranian media reported.
Iran additionally exports thousands and thousands of cubic metres of fuel a day to Iraq to gasoline its energy vegetation, beneath a frequently renewed waiver from US sanctions.
Iraq is billions of {dollars} in arrears on its funds for the imports, which cowl 30 per cent of its electrical energy wants.
Political scientist Ali al-Baidar stated increasing commerce ties was a serious purpose of Pezeshkian’s go to.
“Iran wants the Iraqi marketplace for its exports, simply because it wants Iraq’s power imports,” the Iraqi analyst stated.
US TROOP DRAWDOWN
Washington nonetheless has round 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in neighbouring Syria as a part of a world coalition towards the Islamic State jihadist group.
Final winter, US-led coalition forces in each Iraq and Syria had been focused dozens of instances with drones and rocket hearth as violence associated to the Israel-Hamas warfare in Gaza has drawn in Iran-backed armed teams throughout the Center East.
The barrage of assaults triggered retaliatory US air strikes in each international locations.
On Sunday, Iraqi Defence Minister Thabet al-Abbassi informed pan-Arab tv channel Al-Hadath that the US-led coalition would pull out of most of Iraq by September 2025 and the Kurdish autonomous area by September 2026.
Regardless of months of talks, the goal dates have but to be agreed between Baghdad and Washington.
Pezeshkian will even journey to the Kurdish regional capital Arbil for talks with Kurdish officers, Iran’s official IRNA information company stated.
In March final 12 months, Tehran signed a safety settlement with the federal authorities in Baghdad after launching air strikes towards bases of Iranian Kurdish insurgent teams within the autonomous area.
They’ve since agreed to disarm the rebels and take away them from border areas.
