Iraqi Speaker Underlines Importance of Tehran Ties

Iraqi Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri hailed Iran as a major neighboring country having much in common with his nation, stressing the need for efforts to enhance bilateral relations. In a meeting with Iran's outgoing ambassador in Baghdad, Hassan Danaeifar, the Iraqi speaker said his country is seeking to establish balanced relations with neighbors, Tasnim News Agency reported. Jabouri called for efforts to turn commonalities between Iraq and Iran into tangible interests on the basis of respect for sovereignty of each other and good-neighborliness. The Iranian envoy highlighted the role Iraq's Parliament could play in the future to help expand ties between Tehran and Baghdad. Iran and Iraq have enjoyed growing ties since the overthrow of the former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, during the 2003 US invasion of the Arab country. Iran, a close ally of Iraq, has been supporting the Arab government in the fight against the self-styled Islamic State after the terrorist group invaded Iraq in the summer of 2014.