Tehran has suffered a series of blows in its long-running rivalry with Israel, including most recently during a 12-day war between the two in June.

Israel, as well as the United States, struck Iran's nuclear programme, while Israel has also devastated Hamas and Hezbollah since late 2023, both part of Tehran's anti-Israel "axis of resistance".

Iranian state television said Larijani, the head of the National Security Council, had departed on the three-day trip, his first since being appointed.

The visit to Baghdad comes amid deep divisions in Iraq over a proposed law that would further formalise the role and, possibly, the autonomy of a powerful coalition of pro-Iran former paramilitaries.

Larijani was set to sign a bilateral security agreement in Iraq before heading to Lebanon, where he will meet senior Lebanese officials and figures, state TV said.

There were no immediate details on the security deal.

In Iraq, Larijani met with National Security Adviser Qassem al-Araji and discussed "the implementation of the security agreement" as well as the situation in the Gaza Strip, according to a statement from Araji's office.

A top Iraqi government official told AFP the aim of the visit was to discuss the agreement and inform Iraq "about Iran's position on the latest developments regarding the conflict with the United States and Israel".

Iranian state television later said Larijani and Araji signed a "joint security memorandum of understanding".

While in Iraq, the Iranian security chief also met President Abdul Latif Rashid and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, the official IRNA news agency reported.

- Hezbollah disarmament -

Larijani's trip to Lebanon comes after Tehran expressed strong opposition to a Lebanese government plan to disarm its ally Hezbollah, a stance condemned by Beirut as a "flagrant and unacceptable interference".

"Our cooperation with the Lebanese government is long and deep. We consult on various regional issues," Larijani told state TV before departing.

"In Lebanon, our positions are already clear. Lebanese national unity is important and must be preserved in all circumstances. Lebanon's independence is still important to us and we will contribute to it."

On Monday, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Larijani's trip "aims to contribute to the maintenance of peace in the Middle East region".

Baqaei said Iran recognised Lebanon's "right to defend itself against the aggression of the Zionist regime (Israel)," adding that this would be "impossible without military capabilities and weapons".

Before its war with Israel, Hezbollah was believed to be better armed than the Lebanese military. It built its popularity, in part, on resistance to Israel, which occupied southern Lebanon for nearly two decades until 2000.

Now weakened, Hezbollah's grip on power has slipped and the new Lebanese government, backed by the United States, has moved to further restrain it.

On Saturday, Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior advisor to Iran's supreme leader, described the plan to disarm Hezbollah as compliance "to the will of the United States and Israel".

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