Iran’s Pezeshkian seeks to cement ties in Iraq on first presidential trip

Iran’s reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday kicked off his first trip abroad as president, hoping to cement Tehran’s ties to Baghdad as regional tensions increasingly pull both countries into the widening Middle East fray.

For Iran, its relationship with Iraq remains crucial for economic, political and religious reasons — something that has especially been true since the U.S.-led 2003 invasion of Iraq toppled Saddam…