Qassem Soleimani’s successor meets with Iraqi PM as US withdraws troops

On Saturday, Iraqi and foreign media outlets reported that the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, met with the Iranian Quds Force commander, Ismail Ghaani, in Baghdad.

According to media reports, Al-Kazemi invited Ghaani to visit Baghdad and they met over a breakfast in the Iraqi Prime Minister’s office in the center of the capital, Baghdad.

The visit of the Iranian Quds Force commander to Baghdad lasted three days and took place during the middle part of the week

The meeting focused on easing tensions between the Iraqi government and factions close to Iran, and Al-Kazemi asked Ghaani to work to persuade the factions to reduce tensions.

This meeting between Kazemi and Ghaani came around the same time that the U.S. military began their troop reduction inside Iraq.