Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki arrived in Iran on Wednesday, state television reported, for two days of talks that will also focus on the conflict raging in Syria.

It is Maliki’s first visit to Tehran since Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate who champions engagement with the West, became Iran’s president in August after defeating a pool of conservative candidates in a June election.

Maliki’s spokesman Ali Mussawi told AFP in Baghdad the premier’s talks would focus on energy cooperation and “the necessity of fighting terrorism”.

Iran is a key ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad, while Iraq has suffered from a surge in attacks by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), an Al Qaeda affiliate battling Assad’s regime.

“The meeting touched on Syria and the two sides said the solution should be peaceful and a military option does not represent a solution,” Mussawi said of Maliki’s talks on Wednesday.

Iran’s official IRNA news agency said Maliki was to meet Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Rouhani, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

However, Mussawi said a Maliki-Rouhani meeting was not on the agenda.