Iran's president visits holy shrines in Iraq's Najaf

Najaf, March 13, IRNA – Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday visited the shrine of the first Imam of Shia Muslims. Rouhani and his entourage visited the holy shrine of Imam Ali (AS). One of the strong bonds betwen Iranian and Iraqi nations is religion. Shia Muslims constitute a majority both in Iran and Iraq. Meeting with a number of religious figures of the city is on Rouhani's itinerary. The Iranian president who arrived in Baghdad on Monday for a three-day tour to Iraq, also visited the other holy places in Karbala and Kadhimiya on Tuesday. He is in Iraq upon an official invitation by his Iraqi counterpart. President Rouhani also held talks with senior Iraqi officials and elites in Baghdad. The intensive talks culminated in five documents of cooperation. The two sides on Tuesday released a joint statement on the framework of cooperation, including a bilateral free-visa plan and cleaning up the Arvand Rud River, known as Shat Al-Arab in Iraq. The river constitutes the shared border of Iran and Iraq on its southern end. Follow us on Twitter @IrnaEnglish