Mr Maliki’s rival for the post of PM has accused Iran of political interference
The Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki is in Iran, on one of several visits to neighbouring countries as he tries to secure a second term.
Mr Maliki is struggling to keep his job after inconclusive general elections in March.
He is expected to meet President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other members of the Iranian leadership.
Mr Maliki’s chief rival Ayad Allawi has accused Iran of interfering and trying to impose its will on Iraq.
The visit is bound to be overshadowed by the political struggle back home to form a new government, our Baghdad correspondent Jim Muir says.
Earlier this month the political parties broke the world record for the amount of time taken to form a new administration.
As the deadlock continues, many of the main political figures have been out and about in the region trying to solicit support and help tilt the balance their way.
Mr Maliki himself has been in Syria and Jordan, and he is expected to go to Egypt and Turkey after Iran.
Our correspondent says the Iranians are widely perceived as having strengthened his hand by persuading the militant young Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr – who has been living in the Iranian city of Qom for several years – to back him with the 40 seats he commands in parliament.
It is not clear if Mr Maliki’s visit to Iran will include a meeting with Moqtada Sadr.
But the visit is sure to provide Ayad Allawi with more ammunition to accuse Iran of interfering and Mr Maliki of being an Iranian stooge, our correspondent adds.
Al-Iraqiyya (Iraqi National Movement): Nationalist bloc led by former PM Iyad Allawi, a secular Shia. Includes Vice-President Tariq al-Hashemi, a Sunni Arab, and senior Sunni politician Saleh al-MutlaqState of Law: Led by Prime Minister Nouri Maliki and his Shia Islamist Daawa Party, the alliance purportedly cuts across religious and tribal lines. Includes some Sunni tribal leaders, Shia Kurds, Christians and independentsIraqi National Alliance (INA): Shia-led bloc includes followers of the radical cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC), and the Fadhilah Party, along with ex-PM Ibrahim Jaafari and Ahmad ChalabiKurdistan Alliance: Coalition dominated by the two parties administering Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region – the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), led by President Jalal Talabani
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