Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei told Iraq’s president, who was visiting Tehran, that “the U.S. is not Iraq’s friend… The presence of even one single American in Iraq is too much”. The president also met with his Iranian counterpart, who asserted that “as much as we consider the negotiations between the countries of the region useful, we consider the presence of foreign forces in the region to be harmful and we consider the presence of the Americans to be a threat to the security of the region”. Raisi also remarked that “the will of the two countries is to develop relations in all fields”, emphasising that bilateral relations “in the field of infrastructure such as water, electricity, gas and energy should continue in such a way that the use of existing capacities fully meets the needs of both sides”.