Iran on Saturday felicitated Iraq on its parliamentary election on Thursday, terming the success of the voting as "the last stage of democratic process", the official IRNA news agency reported.

"The Iranian nation and government extend felicitations to the Iraqi nation and government on the groundbreaking democratic process," Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was quoted as saying.

Mottaki said that the voters' active participation in the election indicated the Iraqi national's resolve to go ahead with democratic process and reinforce national sovereignty and speeding up withdrawal of foreign troops as well.

"The Iraqi people showed their political maturity by forging national solidarity in light of guidance of Iraqi religious and political leaders to accomplish the last stage of democratic process," the minister added.

On Friday, Iran's powerful Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani hailed the Iraqi election as "a victory of the Iraqi people" which ran the opposite of what the United States has sought.

Iraq held the general election on Thursday, with about 15 millions of voters casting their ballots to elect their first four- year full term parliament after former president Saddam Hussein was toppled in the US-led invasion in March 2003.

Since the downfall of Saddam, Iran has been keeping a close eye on the Iraqi situation and calling for an early complete withdrawal of foreign troops from the war-torn country.

Source: Xinhua