On Monday, Ali Larijani, the newly appointed Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, arrived in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, for an official two-day visit.
Upon his arrival, Larijani met with Iraq’s National Security Advisor, Qasim al-Araji. Later, he is scheduled to hold consultations with Iraq’s three presidencies, as well as with the leader of the State of Law Coalition, Nouri al-Maliki, and a number of Iraqi political party leaders.
According to Iran’s IRNA news agency, Larijani’s visit aims to sign new security agreements between the two countries.
Media outlets report that Larijani will travel to Najaf tomorrow, where he is expected to meet with the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
Larijani was appointed to his current position less than a week ago, and this marks his first foreign visit since assuming the role. He previously served as Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Iranian Parliament), and before his latest appointment, he acted as Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s senior advisor. Two weeks ago, he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in his capacity as the Supreme Leader’s senior advisor.