Pezeshkian, a relative moderate who was elected in July, met Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on Wednesday at the start of a three-day visit that Tehran and Baghdad said would include the signing of a number of agreements and discussion of the Gaza war and the situation in the Middle East.
"The expansion of bilateral ties as well as regional and international issues such as the ongoing crimes of the Zionist regime (Israel) against the oppressed people of Palestine and the need to stop the war and genocide in Gaza, will be discussed," Pezeshkian's office said in a statement.
Iraq hosts several Iran-aligned parties and armed groups, as Tehran has steadily increased its sway in the major oil producer since a US-led invasion toppled its enemy Saddam Hussein in 2003.
A rare partner of both the United States and Iran, Iraq hosts 2500 US troops and has Iran-backed armed factions linked to its security forces.Â
It has suffered escalating tit-for-tat attacks since the Israel-Hamas war began in Gaza in October.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Wednesday that Tehran and Baghdad had various areas of co-operation "including political, regional ... and security issues", Iranian state media reported.
Pezeshkian visited a monument for Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani who was killed in a US drone attack in 2020 in Iraq, Iranian state media reported.
The United States and Iran came close to a full-blown conflict in 2020 after Soleimani's killing in a US drone attack at Baghdad airport and Tehran's retaliation by attacking US bases in Iraq.
The United States and Iraq have reached an understanding on plans for the withdrawal of US-led coalition forces from Iraq, sources familiar with the matter say.
Iran-aligned armed groups in Iraq have repeatedly attacked US troops in the Middle East since the Gaza war began.
State media have said Pezeshkian also plans to visit Iraqi Kurdistan, a region where Iran has carried out strikes in the past, saying it is used as a staging ground for Iranian separatist groups as well as agents of its arch-foe Israel.
