Iranian FM spokesman unaware of reported Iraqi PM visit to Tehran

TEHRAN, Aug. 12 (MNA) – The Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Ghasemi has told Iranian media that he did not have any knowledge of reported Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's visit to Iran. “I have not received any prior notification or witnessed an official announcement on the visit” Bahram Ghasemi told Fars News Agency yesterday. Prior to this, ‘Iraqi Alghad Press’ quoted an Iraqi source familiar with the matter that the Iraqi prime minister would visit Tehran in the coming days to discuss political issues, while an Iraqi official told French AFP news agency that al-Abadi will visit Tehran and Ankara in the coming week. Meanwhile, Lebanese Arabic news channel Al-Mayadeen reported late Sunday that Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi will start a two-country tour to Tehran and Ankara on Monday.