Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa left for Iraq today on his first visit to the country since the US-led invasion in 2003 that toppled Saddam Hussein.
League officials had said Mr Moussa would meet Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari, President Jalal Talabani and leading Shia cleric Ali al-Sistani.
Mr Moussa said earlier this month Iraq was on the verge of civil war.
The league had not officially announced the timing of his visit earlier for security reasons. When a league delegation went to Iraq this month, gunmen attacked their convoy and killed three of their police escorts.
Security is a major concern for the organisers after a series of attacks on Arab diplomats in Iraq , apparently with the aim of depriving the government of international recognition.
Some Iraqis have criticised the league for neglecting their country for the past two years, and Arab commentators have said Iraq's proposed constitution does not emphasise Iraq's Arab identity enough.