Region | Iraq
Talabani pays visit to Iraq's ailing Shiite cleric in Iran
Iraq's government said President Jalal Talabani is visiting neighbouring Iran to see Iraq's ailing Shiite leader, Abdul Aziz Al Hakim.
- AP
- Published: 12:01 June 7, 2009
Baghdad: Iraq's government said President Jalal Talabani is visiting neighbouring Iran to see Iraq's ailing Shiite leader, Abdul Aziz Al Hakim.
Sunday's statement said Talabani arrived in Tehran late on Saturday but did not say how long the visit would last or if there will be meetings with Iranian officials.
Al Hakim heads the country's largest Shiite political party, the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council. He suffers from lung cancer and his condition has recently worsened.
Talabani's trip was the latest in a string of visits made by senior Iraqi Shiite officials to Al Hakim. Last week Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki also visited him.
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