Iraq's al-Maliki visits Iran to reassure Tehran over pact with U.S._English

TEHRAN, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Monday wrapped up his three-day visit to Iran in which he sought to expand ties between the two countries and reassure Tehran over Baghdad's planned security pact with Washington.

Shortly before al-Maliki left Tehran Monday, Iraqi Defense Minister Lieutenant General Abdul Qadir Mohammed Jassim Obeidi al-Mifarji and his Iranian counterpart Brigadier General Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to boost bilateral defense cooperation.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Monday wrapped up his three-day visit to Iran in which he sought to expand ties between the two countries and reassure Tehran over Baghdad's planned security pact with Washington.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R) speaks with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki during a meeting in Tehran June 9, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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The MoU, signed at the presence of al-Maliki and Iran's First Vice President Parviz Davoudi at the Mehrabad Airport in Tehran, called for expansion of defense cooperation between the two countries in line with harmonizing all-out ties between Tehran and Baghdad.

Al-Maliki's visit came as the United States is pressuring Baghdad to sign an agreement that would allow U.S. soldiers to stay in the country beyond 2008.

Iraqi critics of the agreement said that it means Iraq will be a client state in which the United States will keep more than 50 military bases and American soldiers will enjoy legal immunity.

Iran fiercely opposes the agreement, which is expected to be signed by midsummer, and has always called for the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

On early Sunday, after his late-night talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in Tehran, al-Maliki said that Iraq would not become a platform to "harm" neighboring Iran, the official IRNA news agency reported.

The Baghdad government "will not allow Iraq to become a platform for harming the security of Iran and other neighbors," al-Maliki was quoted as saying.

Visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and Iran's First Vice President Parviz Davoudi agreed on Sunday to expand bilateral relation in various areas, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki(R) shakes hands with Iran's Vice President Parviz Davoudi before an official meeting in Tehran June 8, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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"Iraq's stability and security can have a great impact on the region," said al-Maliki, who arrived in Tehran on Saturday afternoon for a three-day visit to the Islamic Republic.

Earlier on Monday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told al-Maliki that the presence of U.S.-led forces in Iraq is the country 's fundamental problem.

"The most fundamental problem of Iraq is the presence of foreign forces in that country," state television quoted Khamenei as saying in his meeting with Maliki in Tehran.

Presence of occupation forces, particularly the U.S. troops, are now regarded as the main threat to the country's unity, said the Iranian supreme leader, adding that the occupation forces who have employed all their military and security power to interfere in Iraq 's internal affairs are now the main obstacle in the way of the Iraqi government and nation.

"We believe that the Iraqi nation through unity and perseverance will overcome hardships and attain their desired status," Khamenei said. "No doubt that the Americans' dreams will not come true."

His remarks were echoed by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who said on Sunday that he hopes the Iraqi government will successfully overcome the present sensitive situation.

"The oppressed Iraqi people have experienced very tough situation over the past decades ... the country is now experiencing a very sensitive situation," Ahmadinejad said in his meeting with al-Maliki in Tehran.

"But by relying on its powerful nation, the prospects for the country's leader and nation is very promising," he said. " Invaluable achievement will emerge after suffering hardship and this will double the sweetness of success."

All countries should spare no efforts to help the Iraqi government successfully overcome current situation, Ahmadinejad said, adding that Iraq's neighbors, friends as well as the United Nations should all help restore stability and security in Iraq, but the role of its neighbors is much heavier to the end.

As al-Maliki was visiting Iran to reassure Tehran over Baghdad's planned security agreement with Washington, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said on Monday that U.S. forces which might remain in Iraq in the future will not be used to attack Iran.

"U.S. forces in Iraq will not be used for offensive operations against any of Iraq's neighbors," Whitman said, adding that "We are not seeking permanent military bases in Iraq."

During his visit, al-Maliki also met other senior Iranian officials, including Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, First Vice President Parviz Davoudi, Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Secretary Ali Larijani and Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.

Iran and Iraq fought a war between 1980 and 1988, but their ties have warmed considerably since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated regime in 2003. The first visit by an Iraqi prime minister to Iran since the U.S.-led invasion was made by Maliki's predecessor Ibrahim al-Jaafari in July 2005.