Iraq's prime minister sought to ease Iranian fears over a proposed security deal with the US Sunday, saying his government will not allow Iraq to become a launching pad for an attack on its neighbour.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during a two-day visit to Tehran that was expected to focus on the security pact, which Washington and Baghdad hope to finish by mid-summer.
The agreement aims to establish a long-term security arrangement between Iraq and the US Iran fiercely opposes the proposal, saying it will lead to permanent American bases on its doorstep, reflecting Tehran's fears US forces could attack it.
After talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Saturday evening, al-Maliki said the Baghdad government will not allow Iraq to become a launching pad for "harming" Iran, according to Iran's state broadcaster.
Al-Maliki said his government places great value on Iran's security, according to a report on the broadcaster's Web site.
Iran's concerns that it is the likely target of the US drive for an abiding military presence in its western neighbour are shared by many in Iraq who do not want to see their country used as a launchpad for a new war in the region.
Many of Iraq's leading Shia politicians found asylum in Iran when Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated regime held power in Baghdad, and Iraq's Shia majority has close religious and cultural links with its Shia co-religionists across the border.
Iraq's Shia spiritual leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, whose opinions are closely adhered to, has indicated his opposition to any agreement with Washington that limits Iraqi sovereignty.
On Friday, his spokesman Abdel Mahdi Karbalai welcomed "the determination of (Iraq's) political parties to defend nationalist principles."
According to state TV, al-Maliki also met Iran's intelligence minister, Gholam Hossein Mohseini Ejehi, on Saturday night. The report did not elaborate.
Iran's official IRNA news agency said Saturday that al-Maliki would also discuss "security issues" during his visit a reference to US allegations that Iran is arming, funding and training Shia militiamen. Iran has denied the charges, saying it supports Iraq's security and stability.
The visit is the second this year by al-Maliki, a Shia, and three months ago, Ahmadinejad made a landmark visit to Iraq. Al-Maliki's Dawa party, along with other Shia parties in his ruling coalition, have longstanding close ties with Iran.
During the Saddam Hussein era, Iran and Iraq fought an eight-year war that killed about 1 million people.
But after the 2003 US-led invasion toppled Saddam's Sunni-dominated regime, Iraq's Shia majority came to dominate the government, bringing improved ties with Tehran.