Iraqi prime minister plans Iran visit after US trip

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi is due to visit Iran at the end of this week after returning from a one-week visit to the United States, Iraqi state media reported Sunday.

Iraq's national news agency INA quoted the foreign ministry as saying Zaidi is expected to sign memorandums of understanding intended to strengthen bilateral ties with Iran.

The visit would be Zaidi's first trip to Iran since he came to power this year. The source said he took office with Washington's backing after President Donald Trump vetoed another candidate.

Zaidi met Trump during his US trip and returned to Iraq on Sunday. During the visit, Iraq reached 48 agreements and partnerships with American companies.

Zaidi, a businessman, has pledged to improve Iraq's fragile economy and disarm pro-Iran groups that have targeted US facilities. Washington and Tehran are both main allies of Iraq, but their hostility has long put Iraqi governments under pressure to balance ties with both sides.

The source said Washington and Tehran have traded intensifying attacks in recent days. It also said recent attacks blamed on Iran have hit Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, which hosts US troops, foreign oil companies and exiled Iranian Kurdish rebels.