Iran's Raisi welcomes Iraqi PM on mediation visit to Tehran

Iraq's prime minister met with leaders in rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran on Sunday, discussing regional stability as part of Baghdad's efforts to mediate between the two Middle East heavyweights.

Mustafa al-Kadhemi visited Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran, after an earlier meeting with Saudi Arabia's de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Saudi city of Jeddah -- pushing forward a bid to reconcile the foes that have had no diplomatic ties since 2016.

Raisi appeared to welcome the mediation bid, saying: "We stressed the need for regional leaders to negotiate with one another to resolve the region's problems."

Iran and Iraq "believe that peace and tranquillity in the region depend on the role of all regional leaders," he added in a news conference with Kadhemi.

Raisi criticised all forms of rapprochement with Israel, amid hints that an upcoming visit by US President Joe Biden to Riyadh could herald improved relations between the kingdom and the Jewish state.

"The normalisation of relations with the Zionist regime or the presence of strangers in the region will not resolve any problems in the region, but rather aggravate them," Raisi said.

Kadhemi said that he and Raisi had "agreed on the need to... preserve regional calm and fight food insecurity".