By IANS,
Tehran : Iraq Sunday said it would not allow its soil for anti-Iran activities, IRNA reported.
The assurance conveyed by visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki came against the backdrop of a US proposal for an agreement which would allow it to maintain troops in Iraq and conduct military operations against neighbouring countries without seeking Baghdad’s approval.
Voicing readiness of Baghdad to strengthen ties with Iran, al-Maliki told Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki all Iraqi groups emphasise strengthening ties with Iran in all fields.
The current consultations between the two countries indicated the amicable ties based on mutual interests, he added.
Al-Maliki arrived in Tehran Saturday for a three-day visit. The prime minister, who lived in exile in Iran during the Saddam dictatorship, made his first official trip to the neighbouring country in September 2006.
Mottaki briefed the Iraqi prime minister on Iran’s efforts to encourage the neighboring states to assist the Iraqi government and nation.
Referring to positive outcome of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s recent visit to Iraq, he said the trip paved the way for further expansion of Tehran-Baghdad relations.
The Iranian president was in Iraq from March 2-3 on a landmark visit during which the two sides signed a number of memoranda of understanding on bilateral cooperation.
Underlining the need to boost bilateral economic and trade relations, Mottaki called on the Iraqi ministers accompanying al-Maliki to find out new potentials for expansion of all-out cooperation between the two neighboring countries.