As Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi prepares for his first meeting with US President Donald Trump this week, attacks on American targets by pro-Iranian fighters have been on the rise.

With Tehran and Washington competing for influence in Iraq, the gulf between pro-Iranian factions and Baghdad's US-friendly premier is growing.

As US President Donald Trump prepares to host Iraq's new Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi, here are key dates in relations between their countries since 2003.

- Invasion -

Eleven Yemeni government troops, including a senior officer, were killed in a rebel missile attack and clashes to the northeast and east of Sanaa, military and medical sources said Monday.

Egyptian mediators were expected in Gaza on Monday to try and calm tensions after a week of clashes in which Israel has launched military strikes in response to airborne incendiary devices that have ignited wildfires.

The U.S.-led coalition in Syria said Monday a patrol had come under attack and engaged in a firefight near a pro-government checkpoint in the country's northeast.

Israel's army launched new air strikes Sunday against Hamas positions in Gaza and closed the fishing zone around the Palestinian enclave in response to rockets and firebombs sent into Israeli territory.

An ultraconservative Iranian newspaper said on Saturday that the United Arab Emirates' decision to normalize ties with Israel has made it a "legitimate target" for pro-Tehran forces.

World leaders voiced hope Friday that a historic deal between the UAE and Israel could kickstart moribund Middle East peace talks, even as the Palestinians and their supporters denounced the move to normalize ties as a betrayal of their cause.

Iran strongly condemned Friday an agreement between Israel and the UAE to normalise ties, blasting it as an act of "strategic stupidity" that will only strengthen the Tehran-backed "axis of resistance".

Turkey on Friday condemned a landmark deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates in which the Jewish state pledged to suspend annexation of Palestinian lands as a hypocritical betrayal of the Palestinian cause.