Iraqi Prime Minister pays a flying visit to Tehran to see the ailing Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, head of the Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq.

Hakim has been undergoing treatment for cancer in a Tehran hospital, reported Jahan News today.

Premier Nouri al-Maliki visited his old anti-Saddam resistance comrade on Saturday to be briefed about his health condition, and discuss the latest political and security developments in Iraq.

The ailing 56-year-old heads the United Iraqi Alliance -- the largest political grouping in the Iraqi Council of Representatives (Iraq's parliament) -- made up largely from Maliki's Dawaa Party and Hakim's Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq.

Since his health began to deteriorate, many Iraqi officials have visited Hakim in hospital in Tehran.

Maliki was not scheduled to meet any Iranian officials during his one-day trip.

Hospital officials described Hakim's condition as "poorly", due to the spread of cancer and the side effects of chemotherapy.

ZAP/MMN