Iraqi PM secretly visits Tehran 'at Trump's request' in bid to ease tension

<a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/iraq/" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/iraq/">Iraqi</a> Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi quietly travelled to Tehran last Friday in the latest bid by a country in the region to prevent the US-Iran conflict from reigniting, it was revealed on Monday. Mr Al Zaidi's mission was aimed at "reducing tension and preventing escalation", Iraq's ambassador to Tehran, Yasir Abdul Zahra Al Hajjaj, was quoted as saying by state media.

A government official told <i>The National</i> the visit had been requested by US President <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/donald-trump/" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/donald-trump/">Donald Trump</a> and "intended to open a channel for de-escalation and prevent a slide towards war". The visit comes as part of a "diplomatic move to defuse the growing confrontation" between Iran and the US, and to "shield Iraq from being drawn into a wider regional conflict", the official added.

He did not provide more details. Mr Al Zaidi made a brief visit to Tehran on Friday and met Iran's parliament speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Fars News Agency reported on Monday. An informed source told Fars the meeting had focused exclusively on Iraq's efforts to help end the conflict between Iran and the US. Mr Ghalibaf thanked the Iraqi side for its efforts and outlined Iran's "two-day proposal," saying negotiations could move forwards only if the US respected Iran's rights under the proposal, the source said.

Baghdad has long positioned itself as a mediator between Tehran and Washington, drawing on its close ties to both sides and its own interest in avoiding the ramifications on its territory of another war.