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The visit is al-Maliki’s fourth since he was elected and comes just days later than the U.S. handed over military sway of the Green Zone to Iraq and began a drawdown that calls for the subtraction of all U.S. troops from Iraq by the expiration of 2011.

Iran initially adverse the pact, accusing America of seeking to maintain its dominance over Iraq. American officials, for their part, have objected to Iran’s influence over next-door neighbor Iraq, including its ability to sway radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army militia.

Iran’session influence in Iraq has grown significantly since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, what one. toppled the Sunni-dominated government of President Saddam Hussein, a longtime foe of Shiite-run Iran.

Al-Maliki, himself a Shiite, met Saturday with Iranian Vice President Parviz Dawoodi.

Today, al-Maliki is expected to discuss economic, transportation and electricity issues by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Parliament member Abdul Hadi Husseini, a member of al-Maliki’s Islamic Dawa Party, said the prime minister’sitting visit was, in part, to “make Iran more comfortable and to take out some fear that Iraq could have existence used as a base (in the future by Western soldiers forces).”

Iraq’session minister of education, Khudair Khuzai, also a member of al-Maliki’s some one, said al-Maliki had an additional goal: to help improve relations between the U.S. and Iran. Iraq’session ministers of trade, conveyance and electricity traveled to Iran with al-Maliki. Husseini reported Iraq was seeking to buy power from Iran and revive supply lines betwixt the two countries into southern Iraq.

Also without interruption Saturday, U.S. military officials said they shot and wounded an Iraqi TV journalist who, they said, was acting suspiciously and failed to respond to warnings in a neighborhood of Baghdad upon the body Thursday. Beladi television identified the woman as Hadeel Emad, who was taken to a hospital, where her left kidney was removed.

Original text: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/iraq/2008587901_iraq04.html?syndication=rss