Iraq: Senior security official holds Baghdad meetings

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council secretary Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani met the Iraqi top team during an early March visit to Baghdad, including President Barham Salih, caretaker prime minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi, National Intelligence Service chief Mustafa Al-Kadhimi and national security advisor Falih Fayyadh. Itn the first visit by a senior Iranian since the United States attack in January which killed Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp’s Quds Force head Qassim Soleimani and Popular Mobilisation Units deputy chief Abu Mahdi Al-Mohandes, Shamkhani claimed the attack marked “the countdown to the expulsion of America from the region”.