BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki arrived in Tehran on Saturday for a visit with top Iranian officials, his office said, while car bombings renewed violence at home.
Al-Maliki is expected to discuss a wide range of issues, including Iran's alleged backing of insurgents in Iraq.
The long-term security relationship being negotiated between the United States and Iraq also could be on the agenda.
Al-Maliki, along with lawmakers and Cabinet ministers, is to meet with Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other senior officials, according to Iran's Islamic Republic News Agency.
Concerns that Iranian agents are training and arming Shiite militants in Iraq have persisted. Iraqis and Iranian leaders alike are also concerned about the long-term security relationship the United States is forging with Iraq.
A government official said al-Maliki will underscore to Iran that any long-term agreement willl not permit "American forces to launch attacks or conduct warfare or any kind of aggression against any neighboring country from Iraqi soil."
Al-Maliki's media adviser, Ali Hadi, said negotiations are in their "very early stages."
"The treaty is purely an Iraqi-American treaty; the Iranians have nothing to do with it. We will not discuss the progress or the key elements of agreements or disagreements with them because this is an Iraqi issue," Hadi said.
The visit to Iran is al-Maliki's third since he became prime minister more than two years ago. The two countries, which are neighbors, both have Shiite Muslim majorities.
Topic: Iraqi leader in Iran for talks. (Read 751 times)