According to Russia Today, Iraqi Vice President 'Adel Abdul Mahdi paid a visit to Tehran early this week to discuss, with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Iranian official, bilateral relations and the upcoming elections.
The trip was secret and was only announced after Abdul Mahdi had returned to Iraq.
During their meeting, the Iraqi vice president expressed Iraq's desire to strengthen and develop relations with neighboring Iran in all fields. He said that Iraq considers the development of such relations with Iran to be an essential matter.
Observers consider this trip to be the start of shuttle trips that Iraqi politicians will make to Iran prior to the elections.
In an interview with the Iraqi government daily Al-Sabah, Iran's outgoing Ambassador to Baghdad Hassan Kazemi Al-Qomi said that Iranian policy stresses that Iraq will not be an arena for confrontation between his country and the U.S.
Sources: Sotaliraq, January 20, 2010; Al-Sabah, Iraq, January 21, 2010
