Iran, which is helping Iraq in its fight against jihadist-led militants, sent its foreign minister to Baghdad today, as gunmen made a renewed push for the country's main oil refinery.
The United States, whose warplanes have launched more than 90 air strikes against Islamic State (IS) jihadists in Iraq since August 8, has said operations against the group in Syria may also be necessary.
Washington has also ramped up its rhetoric over the grisly IS beheading in Syria of abducted American journalist James Foley, calling it "a terrorist attack against our country".
The toll rose today to more than 35 dead in a string of attacks across Iraq the day before, as officials sought to defuse tensions after 70 people were gunned down at a Sunni mosque by suspected Shiite militiamen.
Iraq is struggling to regain ground lost to a major IS-led militant offensive which began in June and quickly overran large areas of five provinces, sweeping security forces aside.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was to meet caretaker premier Nuri al-Maliki, prime minister-designate Haidar al-Abadi and other officials in Baghdad today.
Tehran has said it is advising Iraq's federal government and its autonomous Kurdish region, which are battling to push back IS-led militants.
However, evidence including the death of an Iranian pilot and the presence of several Iranian Su-25 warplanes points to a more direct military role by Iraq's Shiite neighbour to the east.
As Zarif visited Baghdad, security forces backed by air support battled a renewed militant push towards the Baiji refinery, which once accounted for some 50 percent of Iraq's supplies of refined petroleum products, and has been targeted in the past.
The latest unrest came as the death toll from a string of attacks in and north of Baghdad yesterday rose to at least 37, a health official said.
