Iranian President Hassan Rouhani arrives in Iraq, making his 1st official visit to the nation that Tehran once fought a bloody war against and later backed in the battle with the Islamic State group.
FILE - In this Nov. 24, 2015, file photo, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, right, listens to his Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif prior to a meeting in Tehran, Iran. Rouhani is planning to make his first official visit to Iraq Monday, March 11, 2019, as he faces mounting pressure from hard-liners at home in the wake of the unravelling of the nuclear deal under the Trump administration.
Now with the militants facing a final territorial defeat in the Syrian village of Baghouz, Iran is looking for Iraq’s continued support as it faces a maximalist pressure campaign by President Donald Trump after his decision to withdraw America from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers. It underscores how much has changed since the 1980s, when Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein invaded Iran, sparking an eight-year war that killed 1 million people. After the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq toppled Saddam, Iran began a campaign of backing militants who targeted American forces in Iraq.
Rouhani, who had visited Iraq privately before becoming president, had planned an official visit in 2016 but it was cancelled over unspecified “executive” problems.
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