TehrancTypeface:> Newly elected Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian sought to deepen relations with neighbouring Iraq during his first trip abroad, Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported on Wednesday.
Government representatives of both countries signed 14 cooperation agreements on the economy, culture and religion at the start of Pezeshkian’s three-day visit, IRNA reported.
Pezeshkian described the visit as the "start of an era of increased cooperation.” He is to be the first president in the history of the Islamic republic to visit Iraq’s partially autonomous Kurdish region in the north of the country.
While Tehran has constantly expanded its influence in Iraq over recent years, tensions remain, in particular over the presence of US forces in Iraq. (DPA)