Iraqi Prime Minister met with Iran's chief negotiator in Tehran to discuss reducing the threat of Middle East war. Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi met in Tehran on Friday with Iranian Parliament Speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, with the two sides discussing ways to steer clear of conflict with the United States. Iranian state media reported that Ghalibaf emphasized during the meeting that the U.S. must "respect Iran's rights" to advance the negotiations; Yasser Abdul-Zahra al-Hajjaj, the Iraqi Ambassador to Iran, stated that the talks focused on mitigating the threat of war in the Middle East, and that Iraq is actively working toward diplomatic de-escalation and regional stability.