Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki announced during a visit to the Shiite holy city of Najaf that Iran had earmarked close to one billion dollars for economic projects in Iraq. The investment would cover seven initiatives across sectors including oil, electricity, and hospital construction.
Mottaki said the projects could be located in either Iraq's southern Shiite provinces or its northern Kurdish regions, and that Iranian personnel were prepared to carry out the work.
While in Najaf, the minister prayed at the Imam Ali shrine and held meetings with senior religious figures, among them Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, both of whom wield considerable influence in Iraqi politics. Mottaki described the Sistani meeting as a religious courtesy call, noting that Sistani is widely respected for promoting Iraqi national unity.
The Najaf stop followed a visit to Baghdad on Friday, where Mottaki expressed support for Iraq's newly formed government and pledged Iranian assistance in rebuilding the country. Iran and Iraq fought a devastating war from 1980 to 1988, and Tehran had previously sought 100 billion dollars in reparations from Baghdad.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in May 2006, in its own words.