PM Al-Zaidi heads to Tehran with US-Iran dialogue proposal
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi intends to make an official visit to the Iranian capital, Tehran, at the end of this week, informed sources told Shafaq News on Sunday.
Al-Zaidi will carry an Iraqi initiative aimed at contributing to an end to the current military confrontation between Iran and the United States and at opening channels for dialogue between the two sides.
Read more: Iraq stands to gain most from US-Iran deal
The visit follows an invitation extended by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian during his recent trip to Iraq to attend ceremonies commemorating the assassinated Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
According to the sources, central to the proposal is an offer for Baghdad to host a meeting of Iranian and American officials in the coming period “to narrow differences and prepare the ground for direct or indirect talks.”
The proposal was first raised during al-Zaidi's meeting last week in Washington with United States President Donald Trump, the sources said, and the American side responded favorably to the idea as a step that could help contain the crisis.
Iraq has previously pursued a mediating role between Washington and Tehran. Former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said during his tenure in 2025 that Baghdad was working to arrange direct US-Iranian talks on Iraqi soil, citing Iraq's balanced relations with both sides. He repeated in 2026, while serving in a caretaker capacity, that Iraq remained in contact with both governments about hosting a dialogue. Iran's Foreign Ministry publicly welcomed the Iraqi mediation effort at the time, praising Baghdad's role on matters of regional stability.
Al-Zaidi and the senior delegation accompanying him concluded a five-day official visit to the United States on Saturday, the first foreign trip of his premiership. The trip centered on a broad economic partnership intended to support the Iraqi economy, expand investment opportunities, and stimulate the domestic labor market, alongside efforts to open new outlets for Iraqi crude oil exports and raise production and refining capacity.
The prime minister arrived in Qatar on Sunday to offer condolences over the death of the former Emir of Qatar.
A regional tour covering Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Syria is scheduled for the coming days, following the Iran leg, with bilateral relations and energy files as its focus.
Iranian Positions
After al-Zaidi’s designation in May, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi congratulated him and said Iran “respects Iraqi sovereignty and supports its political stability and development.” Araghchi welcomed the cabinet again after parliament granted it confidence on May 14. However, Washington's visit drew criticism from Ali Akbar Velayati, senior international affairs adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader and a former Iranian foreign minister, describing the trip as “ill-timed” and as “undermining the struggles of the Iraqi people over the country's history,” and referring to al-Zaidi as a young and inexperienced prime minister. Velayati tied his objection to the timing, noting that mourning ceremonies for the assassinated Iranian Supreme Leader had not concluded when the visit took place.
Read more: Iraq's al-Zaidi rebalances Iran ties before Washington visit
