Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi will visit Saudi Arabia and Iran this week on his first foreign trip as premier, carefully balancing ties to regional rivals, officials said.

On Sunday, Mr Al Kadhimi will host Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in Baghdad, before travelling with Iraq's ministers of oil, electricity, planning and finance to Saudi Arabia the following day, Iraqi officials told AFP on Saturday.

They are set to stay in Neom, an area in the kingdom's north-west that is currently under development, and are scheduled to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, with whom Mr Al Kadhimi is known to have warm ties.

Baghdad proposed a package of energy-focused development opportunities in Iraq to Saudi Arabia earlier this month, and the talks will likely focus on financing for those proposals, other infrastructure projects and a reopening of the Arar border crossing between the two countries, the officials said.

They said the delegation would then travel directly to Tehran late on Tuesday, where Mr Al Kadhimi is expected to meet supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Baghdad has often found itself caught between Riyadh, Tehran and even Washington, which Mr Al Kadhimi is also set to visit within the next few weeks.

Mr Al Kadhimi became prime minister in May after serving as the head of Iraq's National Intelligence Service for nearly four years.

He is known to be respected by Iran's intelligence services and government circles, which prompted speculation he could mediate between Tehran and Riyadh.

And Mr Al Kadhimi is well-liked in Washington, where he is expected later this month or in early August to pursue a strategic dialogue between Iraq and the US.

It would be the first visit by an Iraqi prime minister to the White House in three years. US officials never extended an invitation to previous prime minister Adel Abdel Mahdi, whom they regarded as being too close to Iran.

Tensions skyrocketed following a US drone strike in Baghdad in January that killed Iranian Quds Force general Qassem Suleimani and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis.

Earlier this week, officials from Iraq, the US and the Gulf Co-operation Council discussed an arrangement for Iraq to import electricity from Kuwait, a deal which was agreed on last year but has yet to come into effect.

The National