High-Stakes Diplomacy: Iran's Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf Begins Three-Day Visit to Iraq Amid Militia Tensions

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf arrived in Baghdad on Wednesday for a three-day official visit during a sensitive time of escalating rhetoric between the Iraqi government and Iran-backed militias over disarmament.

Mr Ghalibaf landed at Baghdad International Airport and was received by First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Adnan Al Fayhan. The visit will include stops in Iraq’s revered Shiite cities of Karbala and Najaf, and is scheduled to conclude on Friday afternoon.

The visit comes with powerful armed groups in Iraq refusing to disarm ahead of a September 30 government deadline, deepening friction between Baghdad and factions with close ties to Tehran. It also coincides with ongoing talks between Iraq and Iran to allow Iraqi crude oil to be exported through the Strait of Hormuz. The trip underscores Tehran’s effort to maintain close political and security co-ordination with Baghdad as both countries navigate regional security challenges and economic pressures.

Mr Ghalibaf's first meeting will be with Iraqi Parliament Speaker Haibat Al Halbousi. Later on Wednesday, he will meet the President Nizar Amedi. The Iranian delegation will hold discussions with its Iraqi counterparts at the Council of Ministers. Another meeting will be held with the Co-ordination Framework in the presence of Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi. The CF is the largest Shiite bloc in parliament.

On Thursday, Mr Ghalibaf will hold separate meetings with Chief of Judiciary Council Faiq Zaidan and National Security Adviser Qassem Al Aboudi. He will then travel to Karbala to take part in a mourning ceremony for late Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

On Friday, Mr Ghalibaf will travel to Najaf, where he is set to visit the tomb of Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis, an Iraqi militia leader who was killed alongside Iran's Quds Force commander, Qassem Suleimani, in a US strike on Baghdad in 2019.