During a visit to Baghdad in his first official foreign trip after taking office, the Iranian president held a meeting with his Iraqi counterpart on Wednesday.
Highlighting the history of friendly relations between Iran and Iraq, Pezeshkian called for the establishment of a joint union of Islamic countries.
He also introduced the concept of abolishing borders between Islamic countries, like the experience of the European Union.
Closer unity among the Muslim countries will neutralize the foreign sanctions, Pezeshkian added, describing Muslim solidarity as the key to eradication of “Zionist terrorism”.
Stressing the need to pay more attention to regional cooperation between Tehran and Baghdad, the Iranian president urged the formation of specialized committees between the two neighbors to focus on the expansion of political, economic, cultural and social relations.
He also expressed hope that the financial and economic cooperation agreements between Iran and Iraq would contribute to regional security and stability.
For his part, Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid paid tribute to the late Iranian president and foreign minister, who passed away in a helicopter crash on May 19.
He also condemned the Zionist regime’s violation of Iran’s territorial sovereignty in the assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and denounced the Israeli massacre of Palestinians in Gaza.
Rashid then welcomed more agreements and cooperation documents with Iran.
He finally stressed the need to ditch the US dollar in the trade exchanges between the two Muslim neighbors.
During his three-day stay in Iraq, Pezeshkian is expected to visit the holy Shiite shrines in Karbala and Najaf and pay visits to Basra and Erbil as well.
The Iranian president has described cooperation for regional development as the guiding principle of his administration’s foreign policy.