2LT International News

TEHRAN, Iran – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was in Baghdad on Monday, on his first official visit to the country, Iraqi state television reported.

Rouhani was was welcomed by an honor guard as his plane touched down in Baghdad. At the airport to greet him was Iraq’s Foreign Minister Mohammed Ali Al-Hakim.

Rouhani was scheduled to meet with Iraqi President Barham Salih and Prime Minister Abdel Abdul Mehdi, and other senior politicians and leaders on his 3-day visit. First however he visited a holy shrine in the Iraqi capital.

The Iranian president is heading a high-ranking political and economic delegation.

The high profile visit comes in the wake of tightening international sanctions against the Islamic Republic. Iraq has obtained quarantine from  certain aspects of the embargo. Its annual value of trade with Iran totals around $12 billion.