Baghdad - Dozens of Iraqi Sunni tribal leaders gathered on Tuesday to protest the visit of the former president of Iran, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, to Iraq.

Rafsanjani, who was president of Iran following the 1980-88 Iran- Iraq war and was parliamentary speaker during the conflict, is now chairman of an influential advisory committee in the Iranian government. He was described by the protestors as the "killer of Iraqis."

A statement by the Council called on Iraqi MPs and officials to refuse to meet Rafsanjani and labelled those who will do as "traitors."

Rafsanjani's visit, during which he was slated to meet Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, comes amid a rekindling of Iran-Iraq friendly relations after the US-led invasion of
2003.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP), led by Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, said that Rafsanjani's visit to Iraq was "unwelcome," calling on the government to address Iranian interference in Iraqi affairs, which he said had almost pushed the country into a "civil war."

The IIP is one of the three components of the Sunni Iraqi Accord Front.

Rafsanjani arrived in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Monday at the beginning of a five-day official visit. (dpa)