TEHRAN – Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad on Monday ended his two-day visit to Baghdad aimed at showing Iran’s support for the Iraqi government and expanding bilateral ties with the neighboring country.

During his visit, Ahmadinejad held meetings with Iraqi officials and Shia clerics, and academics. He is the first Iranian president to visit Iraq since the two countries fought an eight-year war in the 1980s.
The president visited the shrines of Imam Mousa al-Kadim and Imam Muhammad al-Taqi in the northern Kazimiyah district.
The Mehr News Agency has sought the views of a political analyst and three officials on the outcome of Ahmadinejad’s trip to the once-hated neighbor.
Political analyst Ahmad Bakhshayeshi Ardestani described the visit an unprecedented event which will open a new chapter in bilateral relations.
“Iran and Iraq earlier had poor relations but this trip shows that the two neighbors’ ties have entered a new stage.”
The regional countries’ frequent visits to Baghdad will help the Iraqi government grow in power and independence and will pressure the occupying troops to withdraw from the country, Ardestani observed.
He argued that developing border trade was the most important outcome of the president’s visit.
Ahmadinejad’s trip will pave the way for other countries to improve ties with Iraq, Kazem Jalali of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee told the MNA.
He said the president visited Baghdad to express support for the reconstruction of the war-ravaged country and help restore peace and stability to the region.
The “historic” visit showed that Iraq is secure and that the Islamic Republic supports the development and stability of its neighbors, Jalali observed.
Ali Aqamohammadi of the Expediency Council said Ahmadinejad’s visit indicated that the two neighbors have bridged previous differences and are determined to bolster relations.
The trip showed that the two states are determined to resolve the security crisis in the region without the help of Western powers, he stated.
Aqamohammadi said the visit also proved that the Western powers’ efforts to isolate the Islamic Republic have failed and Iranian officials travel to a country which is under U.S. occupation, he stated.
Iran is the only country whose strategy is to strengthen the Iraqi government, MP Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh told the MNA.
He stated that Iran and the United States have adopted two different strategies towards Iraq. Iran is trying to help the government of Iraqi president Jalal Talabani grow in power and the U.S. is seeking to continue the occupation of the war-ravaged country, he opined.
The president’s trip comes in line with Iran’s strategy to support Talabani’s administration, said Falahatpisheh who sits on the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee.
Since Iran is the most powerful neighbor of Iraq, Ahmadinejad’s trip will provide a powerful stimulus for a serious economic cooperation between the two countries, he added