Iran's Ahmadinejad to make landmark trip to Iraq

By Ross Colvin

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad makes a landmark trip to Iraq on Sunday, the first Iranian president to visit since the two neighbours fought a protracted war in the 1980s that killed a million people.

His trip is expected to be as much about symbolism as it will be about cementing ties between Shi'ite Iran and Baghdad's Shi'ite-led government. It will be closely watched by arch-foe the United States, which has more than 150,000 troops in Iraq.

Ahmadinejad, known for his provocative rhetoric, has said that the United States is to blame for violence in Iraq and called for U.S. 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 published in local newspapers.

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

"It will surely help strengthen the Iraqi nation and the government ... and peace and security in the region," he told Iranian state television. "Withdrawal of the occupying forces is in everyone's advantage," he added.

Washington says Tehran supplies weapons and training to Shi'ite Muslim militias to attack U.S. troops, a charge Tehran denies. The two countries are also at odds over Iran's nuclear program.

Iran's influence in Iraq has grown substantially since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion ousted Saddam Hussein, and analysts say Ahmadinejad will use his visit to show Washington that Tehran is a power in Iraq that cannot be ignored or sidelined.