Iran’s FM arrives in Basra

BASRA / IraqiNews.com: Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki on Friday arrived in the southern Iraq province of Basra for talks with officials there, according to an informed source. “Mottaki arrived on Friday evening in Basra on a leg that is expected to cap his visit to Iraq,” the source told IraqiNews.com news agency. “Basra Governor Mohammed Mosbeh al-Waeli, the Basra provincial council chief and other officials in the city were at hand to receive Mottaki,” the source added. Mottaki had arrived in Baghdad on Wednesday (Feb. 11) and had talks with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. He also met Iraqi Trade Minister Abdelfalah al-Sudani to discuss trade exchange between Iraq and Iran. The Iranian top diplomat also headed for the Kurdish cities of Arbil and Sulaimaniya to meet officials there. He was scheduled to head for the holy Shiite city of Najaf to meet with top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. AmR (P) 1