On the second day of his trip to Iraq, Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri met April 1 with Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, a Shiite leader known for promoting cooperation and moderate positions in the region.

Sistani told Berri, "It's important for everyone to work on establishing values of peaceful coexistence based on protection of rights and mutual respect between the different religious and ethnic components in our region, to provide security, stability, progress and prosperity for its peoples.”

After the meeting, Berri reciprocated, noting the opportunity Sistani's presence provides for the entire region: “Sistani was the first one to save [not just] Iraq, but the region, from terrorism."

Berri also met with Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and Berri's Iraqi counterpart, Mohammed al-Halbusi. They discussed ways of enriching the countries' relationship in all aspects. Berri's visit to Iraq came after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's trip March 22 to Beirut. Pompeo warned about what he said are the criminal and terroristic activities of the Lebanon-based Shiite militant group Hezbollah, and raised the possibility of more US sanctions against Hezbollah and Iran.