Iraq's Talabani visits ailing cleric in Iran

Talabani's trip was the latest in a string of visits made by senior Iraqi Shi'ite officials to al-Hakim.

Iraq's government says President Jalal Talabani is visiting neighboring Iran to see Iraq's ailing Shiite leader, Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim. Sunday's statement says Talabani arrived in Teheran late Saturday but didn't say how long the visit will last or if there will be meetings with Iranian officials. Al-Hakim heads the country's largest Shiite political party, the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council. He suffers from lung cancer and his condition has recently worsened. Talabani's trip was the latest in a string of visits made by senior Iraqi Shi'ite officials to al-Hakim. Last week Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki visited him as well.