Iran’s SNSC Secretary Meets Grand Ayatollah Sistani in Najaf

Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Saeed Jalili met with senior Iraqi cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani in the holy city of Najaf in Southern Iraq on Friday, and discussed the latest regional and international developments.

During the meeting, Jalili and the Grand Ayatollah discussed latest regional and international developments.

The meeting took place after Jalili’s visit to the holy sites of Najaf in Iraq, including the holy shrine of Hazrat Ali (AS), the first Imam of the Ahlul Bayt.

Iranian top negotiator and his accompanying delegation had on Thursday night visited the holy shrines of Imam Hossein Ibn Ali (AS), the grandson of Holy Prophet of Islam, and of Hazrat Abolfazl (AS), his step-brother, in Karbala of Iraq.

Jalili and his delegation visited the holy sites after two-day of intensive talks with the Group 5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany), headed by Jalili and EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton on Iran’s nuclear issue.

Iran and the G5+1 held several rounds of talks in Baghdad on Wednesday and Thursday.

The Baghdad meeting came after Iran and the six world powers resumed talks in Istanbul, Turkey, last month and agreed to meet again in the Iraqi capital on May 23.

The two sides are due to continue their negotiations in the Russian capital, Moscow, on June 18 and 19.

Analysts believe that the two sides’ agreement to continue the talks should be seen as a sign of hope for resolving the long-standing standoff between Tehran and the West.