Iranian Parliament Speaker and senior negotiator Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf is due to arrive in Baghdad on Wednesday to hold talks with Iraqi officials on regional developments and bilateral relations, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported.
Qalibaf is expected to discuss border security, counterterrorism, economic cooperation and the implementation of existing agreements between Iran and Iraq, according to the report.
The visit comes as regional tensions remain high and the Strait of Hormuz continues to face major disruptions, affecting Iraq’s oil exports and wider energy trade. Iraq has been exploring alternative routes to reduce its dependence on the strategic waterway, including a proposed crude oil pipeline through Syria to the Mediterranean. Reuters reported this week that the planned project could take about four years to build and cost at least $15 billion.
Iraqi officials have also discussed arrangements that could allow the country to continue exporting crude through the Strait of Hormuz. Iraq produces about 2.7 million barrels of oil per day and exports roughly half of that output, according to recent statements by Iraqi Oil Minister Basim Mohammed. However, no new mechanism for exports through the strait was active at the time of those comments.
Iraq has been particularly exposed to the disruption because most of its oil exports traditionally leave through terminals in the Gulf. Reuters reported that buyers have become reluctant to send vessels to Basrah terminals inside the strait because of security risks, prompting some traders to seek Iraqi crude loaded outside the waterway.
Qalibaf’s visit is therefore expected to take place against the backdrop of wider discussions over regional security, energy exports and the future of commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The two countries are closely linked politically, economically and through security cooperation, making Baghdad an important interlocutor in regional diplomacy.
