ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi arrived in Riyadh on Wednesday on a previously unannounced official visit, coming as Baghdad seeks to mend ties with Saudi Arabia after a prior visit by the premier was scuppered by Saudi airstrikes on pro-Iran groups in Iraq.

The prime minister's visit coincides with escalating strikes by Houthi rebels deep into Saudi territory, with the capital's King Khalid International Airport having been repeatedly targeted by ballistic missiles, including an attack on Saturday that killed 12 and wounded hundreds.

Zaidi was set to visit Riyadh in late July, but the trip was cancelled after joint Saudi-US airstrikes on Iraqi territory drew condemnation from Baghdad. Saudi Arabia claimed that the bombardment came in response to drone strikes orchestrated by Iran-aligned Iraqi factions targeting Saudi oil infrastructure, while Iraq lamented that the kinetic response came ahead of an Iraqi investigative committee's verdict on the veracity of the accusations.

For the premier, who has repeatedly censured the diplomatic chaos caused by militia attacks on regional countries and pledged to restrict weapons to the hands of the state, maintaining good relations with its powerful southern neighbor remains a priority, especially given the ongoing Houthi campaign, which has been explicitly supported by several Iraqi Shiite militant groups.

In an interview with the Asharq Al-Awsat news outlet published on Tuesday, Zaidi said that "Iraqi-Saudi relations hold special strategic importance, given the political and economic weight of the two countries," affirming that "the two countries have made tangible progress in rebuilding trust and opening channels of cooperation."

"The security of Iraq and the stability of Saudi Arabia form part of a broader equation for Gulf security and regional stability," he continued.

"This vision requires flexible diplomacy, based on the principle of mutual sovereignty and respect for each state's right to make its decisions according to its national interests."

Zaidi met with several Saudi officials in the wake of the July strikes, reiterating Baghdad's "firm stance" on not allowing its territory to be used as a launching pad to strike any other country to the head of the Saudi General Intelligence Directorate Khalid bin Ali al-Humaidan in August.