Iranian President Pezeshkian Visits Basra

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in Basra, on day three of his visit to Iraq.

Pezeshkian's visit to Iraq marks his first foreign trip, signaling the clerical establishment's intention to strengthen ties with a strategic ally of both Tehran and Washington as regional tensions rise.

The Iranian leader spoke to city officials and citizens at the Oil Cultural Centre in Basra.

Pezeshkian, a relative moderate who was elected in July, met Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani at the start of a three-day visit that Tehran and Baghdad said would include the signing of a number of agreements and discussion of the Gaza war and the situation in the Middle East.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has called for unity among Muslim nations, noting that the benefits of enemies lie in discord among Muslims.

"If we stand together, our capacity for economic, scientific, and cultural progress will increase significantly and this is why our unity is undesirable to our enemies, and their benefit lies in our discord and division," he said while addressing a host of cultural, religious, and academic elites in Basra, Iraq.

"Therefore, any message or voice that causes division among Muslims is a satanic message," he added.

"We must all join hands to restore the past glory and dignity of Muslims," said Pezeshkian who started his official three-day visit to the neighboring country.

Iraq hosts several Iran-aligned parties and armed groups, as Tehran has steadily increased its sway in the major oil producer since a US.-led invasion toppled its enemy Saddam Hussein in 2003.

The Iraqi prime minister's media office said the two countries had signed 14 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) in different fields including trade, sports, agriculture, cultural cooperation, education, media, communications and tourism.