Iraqi Politician Called Iran-Iraq Relations "Strategic"
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq lauded "strategic" relations between Tehran and Baghdad, and said the relations are not limited to a specific religious society in Iraq.
In a meeting with Speaker of Iran's Parliament Ali Larijani in Baghdad, Seyed Ammar al-Hakim described the economic and political interaction between the two neighboring countries as "very helpful", and asked for Iran's help in developing agriculture, industry and housing in Iraq.
As regards the problem of terrorism in the Arab country, the Iraqi politician downplayed Western role in fighting terrorism and appreciated Iran’s swift assistance to Iraq in its fight against terrorists.
“If the United States wanted to help Iraq in fighting terrorists, it would have definitely taken them at least four or five months, but Iran rushed to help (Iraq) in the first two or three days and offered serious assistance,” al-Hakim underscored.
Larijani, for his part, reiterated Tehran’s continued support for Iraqi people in their efforts to combat terrorism.
The Iranian speaker said that Iran has always stood by the Iraqi nation and today will not withhold its capacity to help Iraq tackle the country’s terrorism crisis.
The Iranian speaker also lashed out at the westerners' approach to terrorism, and said that the US behavior toward fighting terrorism is "ambiguous".
Larijani's visit to Iraq is the final destination of his tour of the regional states. Earlier, he met with the leading religious figure Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Najaf on Tuesday and had a meeting with his Iraqi counterpart Salim al-Jabouri today in Baghdad.
Before arriving in Iraq, the Iranian speaker had visited Syria and Lebanon during which he had met the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, his Syrian counterpart Mohammad Jihad al-Laham, and the Secretary General of the Lebanese Hezbollah Movement Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah and several high-ranking officials.