On July 19, outgoing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad paid his last official presidential visit to Iraq, where he was received by Iraqi Vice President Khodair al-Khozaei.
Ahmadinejad’s first visit to Iraq in 2008 was of significant importance for Iranian and Iraqi parties, as well as for the US, which was holding talks with Iran at the time about Iraq and other issues. Back then, he was received by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani accompanied by then-Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi, Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih and a number of other senior Iraqi officials.