Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, has arrived in Iraq.

He is the first Iranian president to visit Iraq since the two neighbours fought a war in the 1980s that killed more than a million people.

Ahmadinejad is expected to go straight into talks on Sunday with Jalal Talabani, the Iraqi president, and Nuri al-Maliki, the prime minister.

His trip is expected to be as much about symbolism as it will be about cementing ties between Iran and Baghdad's Shia-led government.

It will be closely watched by the US, which has more than 150,000 troops in Iraq.

Iranian influence

Al Jazeera's Mike Hanna reporting from Baghdad said that Ahmadinejad hopes to establish economic and political ties with Iraq.

He said: "The overriding theme, however, is an attempt to improve the security situation in Iraq."

"Iran's influence in the country is well-known, and it is believed that Tehran is more influential than the US, despite its huge military presence in the country."

Ahmadinejad has said that the US is to blame for violence in Iraq and called for US troops to leave.

"Security for Iraq is security for Iran, and this does not suit the enemy because they do not want stability for the region, so they can continue their meddling in its affairs and justify the presence of its military," he said in an interview with Iraqi journalists.

Speaking on the eve of his trip to Baghdad, Ahmadinejad said his visit would help improve security in Iraq.

He said: "It will surely help strengthen the Iraqi nation and the government ... and peace and security in the region."

"Withdrawal of the occupying forces is in everyone's advantage."

Washington says Tehran supplies weapons and training to Shia fighters to attack US troops, a charge Tehran denies.

PHOTO CAPTION 

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad waves as he boards his plane leaving for Baghdad.

Al-Jazeera