Rouhani Meets Ayatollah Sistani

On the final leg of his trip to Iraq, President Hassan Rouhani met with Iraq’s top cleric, Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Sistani, on Wednesday in the holy city of Najaf. 
Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif and Presidential Chief of Staff Mahmoud Vaezi accompanied the president in the visit held at the house of the grand ayatollah.
Ayatollah Sistani stressed that he would welcome any effort to help expand Iraq’s relations with its neighbors based on the interests of the nations, respect for national sovereignty and non-interference in each other’s domestic affairs. 
He also expressed gratitude to “friends of Iraq” for their role in defeating the self-styled Islamic State terrorist group that had once occupied large swaths of northwestern Iraq.