This must fry George Bush’s ass…….

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — Iraq’s prime minister announced plans to visit Iran on Monday, just days after his deputy returned from the country, accompanied by several top officials.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki will spend two days in Iran, the Cabinet said in a statement Saturday.

The trip “is to confirm the establishment of friendly and balanced relations based on common interest and respect of the sovereignty of the two countries without any interference in internal affairs,” the statement said.

This week al-Maliki’s deputy prime minister, Barham Saleh, visited Tehran as head of a delegation that included the minister of state for foreign affairs, and the ministers of trade, planning and finance.

In July 2005, former Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari made a landmark visit to Iran, the first by an Iraqi premier since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

Iraq’s new Shiite leaders have close ties to Iran.

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