Shafaq News / A government official said today, Saturday, that the Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi’s visit to Saudi Arabia and Iran is an "attempt to balance relations", while he indicated that Al-Kadhimi will receive the Iranian Minister of foreign affairs, Javad Zarif, before heading to Riyadh to meet Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman.

"The PM will visit Saudi Arabia and Iran, respectively, next week, to attempt a balance in relations with the two disputing parties during his first foreign trip since taking office", a government official told AFP News Agency.

Baghdad has often found itself caught between the Riyadh and Tehran conflicts, and even Washington, which Al-Kadhimi is also scheduled to visit later this month.
The government official indicated that "the Iraqi Prime Minister will receive on Sunday in Baghdad, the Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, before heading the next day to Saudi Arabia at the head of a delegation that includes the ministers of oil, electricity, planning, and finance."
It is scheduled that Javad Zarif will arrive on Sunday to Baghdad, to meet with a number of Iraqi officials, after which he will visit the city of Erbil, to meet the President and the Prime Minister.
Talks between Baghdad and Al-Riyadh are expected to focus on financing development projects in Iraq, as well as reopening the Arar border crossing between the two countries.
The Iraqi delegation is scheduled to travel directly to Tehran on Tuesday evening, where the PM will meet the Supreme Leader of the Iranian Republic, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In addition to his friendship with the Saudi crown prince, Al-Kadhimi also has good relations with Iranian intelligence and government departments in the country, which could make him, according to observers, a mediator between the two parties.

According to AFP, Al-Kadhimi is also accepted by Washington, which he will visit soon, and this will be the first time that an Iraqi prime minister has visited the White House in three years.