Ayatollah Khamenei, the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic, in his meeting with Barham Salih, the president of Iraq, asked him to maintain the Al-Hashd Al-Sha'abi militia, also known as the People's Mobilization Committee.

People's Mobilization Committee is a militia force that was organized in Iraq primarily to fight ISIS. The group is mostly Shia and backed by the Islamic Republic. Previously, the Iraqi parliament had approved of all the militia groups to become part of the Iraqi army. But the activities of People's Mobilization Committee are under question by many in Iraq.

The leader of the Islamic Republic also said that Iran is very determined to expand its cooperation with Iraq.

In another part of his talks, Khamenei said that “some countries in the region and outside the region intervene in Iraq’s domestic affairs” that need to be stopped.

The president of Iraq said that “we are looking forward to increasing cooperation in every field to a level that is deserving of the two country’s relationship and culture and joint common interests.

This is the fourth foreign trip of Barham Salih, the new president of Iraq.