Iran's Foreign Minister In Iraq To Boost Ties

Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi (file photo)

Iran's acting Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi is in Iraq for a trip aimed at boosting bilateral ties between the two neighbors.

The visit is the first by Salehi or any Iranian official since Iraq's new government was sworn in after about nine months of political wrangling following March elections.

Iran and Iraq fought an eight-year war in the 1980s that left hundreds of thousands of people dead on both sides.

Ties between predominantly Shi'ite Iran and Shi'ite-majority Iraq have warmed up considerably since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated government in the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

compiled from agency reports