Iran's parliament speaker Galibaf to visit Baghdad on Wednesday

BAGHDAD, Iraq — A high-level Iranian delegation led by Mohammad Bagher Galibaf, speaker of Iran's Islamic Consultative Assembly, is expected to arrive in Baghdad on Wednesday for talks with Iraqi officials and political figures, according to the delegation's stated agenda. The discussions are set to cover political, security and economic issues, with a focus on ensuring Iraq can continue exporting oil through the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. The two sides are also expected to address efforts to bring weapons under state control in Iraq, Tehran's position on the issue and an end-of-September timeline referenced in Iraqi legislation. Iraqi political factions have reiterated that arms should be confined to state institutions and said legal and counterterrorism frameworks will guide action once the September deadline passes. Iraqi security forces have raised their preparedness level, canceled leave for several commanders and taken field measures against possible escalation. The visit follows recent attacks in Baghdad targeting Hashd al-Shaabi elements and retaliatory threats toward Saudi Arabia, tensions that Prime Minister Ali Fallah al-Zaydi and Badr Organization leader Hadi al-Amiri have worked to calm through contacts. The end-September timeline coincides with the planned end of the international coalition's military presence in Iraq, linking the question of foreign troop withdrawal to the file on Hashd al-Shaabi weapons.