Salehi, who is also Iran's atomic chief, will congratulate the new Iraqi government and hold talks with high-ranking officials in Baghdad "on issues that could increase cooperation" between the two countries.

The trip to Iraq is Salehi's second overseas visit as Iran's acting foreign minister after he was appointed to the post last month by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Salehi's appointment as foreign minister, which is yet to be ratified by the Iranian parliament, came after Ahmadinejad sacked his predecessor Manouchehr Mottaki.

Iranian officials have expressed hope that the new Iraqi government would help stabilise the war-torn country and lead to the exit of the "occupying" US forces.

Iran has regularly called for US troops to leave Iraq, citing their presence as the main cause of violence in its western neighbour.

Iran and Saddam Hussein's Iraq fought a bloody eight-year war in the 1980s which left almost a million people dead on both sides.

Ties between predominantly Shiite Iran and Shiite-majority Iraq have warmed considerably since the overthrow of Saddam's Sunni-dominated regime in a US-led invasion in 2003.

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