BBC NEWS | In Pictures | In pictures: Ahmadinejad visit

BBC NEWS / IN PICTURES
Graphics Version BBC Sport Home

Sunday, 2 March 2008, 11:52 GMT

In pictures: Ahmadinejad visit

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (left) and Jalal Talabani stand for the national anthems of the two countries - 2 March 2008

1 of 8
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to former enemy Iraq is the first by an Iranian president. The two countries fought a long, bloody war in the 1980s.

Jalal Talabani (left) and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad walk down the red carpet at the Iraqi president's Baghdad residence

Jalal Talabani (left) and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad walk down the red carpet at the Iraqi president's Baghdad residence

2 of 8
Mr Ahmadinejad was given a red carpet welcome as he was greeted by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani at his Baghdad residence.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (left) and Jalal Talabani (right) at a news conference after talks with Jalal Talabani - 2 March 2008

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (left) and Jalal Talabani (right) at a news conference after talks with Jalal Talabani - 2 March 2008

3 of 8
Mr Talabani described Mr Ahmadinejad's visit as "historic" and said Iraq would try to oust Iranian rebels based on the mountainous frontier between the two countries.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at a news conference after talks with Jalal Talabani - 2 March 2008

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at a news conference after talks with Jalal Talabani - 2 March 2008

4 of 8
Mr Ahmadinejad said a "united, powerful and developed Iraq" was in the region's interests, adding: "A visit to Iraq without the dictator [Saddam Hussein] is a truly happy one".

Iraqi soldier at a Baghdad checkpoint - 2 March 2008

Iraqi soldier at a Baghdad checkpoint - 2 March 2008

5 of 8
Security has been tightened in the Iraqi capital for the two-day visit.

US soldiers on patrol in Baghdad - 2 March 2008

6 of 8
But US forces did not provide any additional security for Mr Ahmadinejad. The US accuses Iran of training and arming Shia militias.

An anti-Iranian banner is strung up in Kirkuk, in northern Iraq

An anti-Iranian banner is strung up in Kirkuk, in northern Iraq

7 of 8
The Americans are not the only ones wary of Mr Ahmadinejad's visit; this banner in Kirkuk reads: "We denounce Iran's intervention in Iraqi affairs".

A man in Baghdad's Sadr City Shia district watches TV coverage of President Ahmadinejad's visit - 2 March 2008

A man in Baghdad's Sadr City Shia district watches TV coverage of President Ahmadinejad's visit - 2 March 2008

8 of 8
However, nearly two-thirds of Iraqis are Shia Muslim and are happy to see closer ties with mainly-Shia Iran.

E-mail this to a friend

Related to this story:
Iran leader in landmark Iraq trip (02 Mar 08 | Middle East )