TEHRAN- During a tour of Iraq that started on Tuesday night and ended on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian addressed security cooperation with Iraqi sides, emphasizing how collaboration will increase the security and stability of both nations.
On Wednesday, Amir Abdollahian held talks with Iraqi foreign minister, prime minister, president and parliament speaker.
On Thursday, the Iranian minister also met with a number of Iraqi officials to address a variety of issues of mutual concern, including security.
In a meeting with the Iraqi National Security Adviser, Qassim al-Araji, Amir Abdollahian expressed satisfaction that Iran and Iraq had been successful in creating a high-security committee to allay some current worries in the Iraqi Kurdistan region.
Presence of any anti-Iranian separatist groups in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is “unacceptable” and poses a threat to Iran, Iraq, and even the Kurdistan region itself, he warned.
Al-Araji, for his part, called recent attempts to harm the Islamic Republic of Iran a fantasy and emphasized that any threat coming from Iraqi land to Iran will be “unacceptable and disgraceful.”
The advisor also emphasized the value of regional cooperation, pointing out that through increased interactions between regional nations, there would be no place for extra-regional countries.
Amir Abdollahian also met with Iraq’s Hashd al-Sha’abi head, Faleh al-Fayyad.
He stated that peace and security in Iraq are equivalent to stability and security in Iran.
The Iran’s top diplomat expressed thanks for the efforts and sacrifices made by Hashd al-Sha’abi troops in the fight against Daesh and the restoration of stability and security to Iraq.
For his part, Fayyad praised Iran for its persistent commitment to establishing stability throughout the region, including along the borders, and emphasized the need for the Iranian and Iraqi governments to continue their security collaboration.
In a separate meeting with the head of Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council Faiq Zidane, Amir Abdollahian commended Baghdad for its attempts at setting up a high-security committee between the two countries, noting that the presence of terrorist organizations poses a threat to all parties, including Baghdad itself.
The Iranian foreign minister also urged the Iraqi judiciary official to complete his investigations into the case of the U.S. assassination of anti-terror leaders General Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi Muhandis in January 2020.
Zidane described the extensive legal steps taken by the Iraqi side to file an indictment against the perpetrators and organizers of the assassination, emphasizing that Iraq is committed to holding those responsible for the crime accountable.
Moreover, Hadi al-Amiri, the head of the Fatah Coalition, and the top Iranian diplomat met once more to discuss a variety of topics of concern to both parties.