From correspondents in Baghdad, Iraq, 09:02 AM IST

Iran has refused the landing of a plane carrying Iraqi parliament speaker on its territory citing a technical problem at the airport, media reports said Monday.

Iran's embassy in Baghdad said in a statement that Mahmoud al-Mashhadani's plane was refused to land at the Tehran Airport because there was a technical problem there.

Iraqi media has reported that Mashhadani was on a one-day visit to Iran. He is scheduled to head to Syria Tuesday to attend the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union meeting, reports said.

Iran's Ambassador to Iraq Hassan Kazemi Qomi later apologised for the incident.

No further details were immediately avaliable.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)