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Iran\u2019s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Wednesday stressed the importance of strengthening the \u201cnew order\u201d in the region, on the first stop in a three-day visit to Iraq.<\/strong><\/p>\n Ghalibaf\u2019s trip comes at a time when Iraq is facing American pressure to disarm factions close to Tehran, which wields significant political influence in Iraq.<\/p>\n Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, who took office three months ago with US backing, has pledged to restrict weapons to the control of the state.<\/p>\n Speaking from the site near Baghdad airport where Iranian general Qassem Soleimani was killed in a 2020 US strike, Ghalibaf said: \u201cOur trip to Iraq today is aimed at strengthening the new order in the region and accelerating the strengthening of cooperation between all countries in the region without foreign interference.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cResistance in Iraq is\u2026 one of the elements of this country\u2019s power. Today, resistance has gone beyond the borders of Iran and Iraq\u2026 and has become global,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Ghalibaf is scheduled to meet Zaidi later on Wednesday and then hold a meeting with the Coordination Framework, the largest bloc in parliament, made up of Shia parties with varying degrees of proximity to Tehran.<\/p>\n Iraq has been pulled into the Middle East war, with pro-Iran factions have launching attacks on US interests, which Washington has responded to with deadly strikes. Iran has also shelled positions belonging to Iranian Kurdish opposition groups.<\/p>\n Iraq is facing mounting challenges in maintaining a balance between Iran and the United States, and since the US invasion in 2003 it has been an arena of rivalry between the two powers.<\/p>\n