Iraqi president in US for medical checks

Iraqi president Jalal Talabani is expected to undergo a medical check-up during a three-week visit to the US.

Mr Talabani, a 73-year-old Sunni Kurd, boarded a plane in the Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah, 160 miles north-east of Baghdad. He arrived last night in Rochester, Minnesota, where he left a car surrounded by several security guards and entered the Mayo Clinic, local television showed.

“I will go to the USA and stay nearly three weeks to lose weight and have some rest and relaxation … away from meetings and work,” he said laughing.

A senior Kurdish politician close to the Iraqi leader said Mr Talabani was going for a check-up that had been scheduled for weeks.

Azad Jindyani, spokesman of Talabani’s Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, denied the president had health problems.

“Mr Talabani’s health is very good, but he felt tired recently … because of the work and meetings,” he said.

Mr Talabani was admitted to King Hussein Medical Centre in Amman in neighbouring Jordan on February 25 after he collapsed in Sulaimaniyah. He was unconscious as he was rushed to a local hospital, but recovered enough to be flown to Jordan. Doctors said he suffered from exhaustion and dehydration caused by lung and sinus infections.

He returned home 17 days later, flying directly to Sulaimaniyah where thousands of Kurds greeted him.

Mr Talabani met Prime Minister Tony Blair on Saturday and the two addressed a news conference along with Prime Minister Nouri Maliki. Looking pale and slightly unkempt, Mr Talabani was visibly angry when answering a reporter’s question on the chances of a coup toppling Mr Maliki’s government.

“A coup is an illusion that will never materialise,” Mr Talabani said. “If it becomes necessary, hundreds of thousands of popular and military forces will be prepared to stand by the government against any coup attempt.”

Mr Talabani was the second top Iraqi politician to fly to the United States for medical reasons in four days.

Senior Shiite politician Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim flew there aboard a US military aircraft last Wednesday for further tests to determine if he is suffering from lung cancer, according to members of his staff.

Mr Al-Hakim is the leader of the Supreme Islamic Council in Iraq, the country’s largest Shiite party and a partner in Mr Maliki’s coalition government.