Tasnim - Speaker of Iraq's Parliament Salim al-Jabouri hailed Iran as a major neighboring country having much in common with his nation, stressing the need for efforts to enhance bilateral relations.

In a meeting with Iran�s outgoing ambassador to Baghdad Hassan Danaeifar, the Iraqi speaker said his country is seeking to establish balanced relations with the whole neighbors.

Jabouri also called for efforts to turn the commonalities between Iraq and Iran into tangible interests on the basis of respect for sovereignty of each other and good-neighborliness.

For his part, the outgoing Iranian envoy highlighted the role that Iraq�s parliament could play in future to expand ties between Tehran and Baghdad.

Iran and Iraq have enjoyed growing ties since the overthrow of the former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, during the 2003 US invasion of the Arab country.

Iran, a close ally of Iraq, has been also supporting the Arab government in the fight against Daesh (ISIL) after the terrorist group invaded Iraq in summer 2014.