Iraqi president visits Iran to discuss bilateral issues

Tehran: Iran's official IRNA news agency is reporting that Iraqi President Fouad Massoum has arrived in Tehran for a two-day visit, his first since taking office last year.

Today's report said Massoum will meet his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani and other senior officials to discuss a range of political and economic issues.

Iran is heavily involved in helping Iraq combat the Islamic State group which controls a large area of northern and western Iraq, including the country's second-largest city, Mosul.

Tehran says it does not have ground forces in Iraq, but senior Iranian military commanders have taken prominent roles in the fight.

The two neighbors do about USD 13 billion in annual trade, and millions of Iranian and Iraqi religious tourists visit Shiite holy sites on both sides each year.