Speaker: Iran-Iraq Bond to Thwart Hostile Plots
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani highlighted the importance of close ties between Tehran and Baghdad in foiling the plots hatched by enemies of the two neighboring countries.
“Consolidation of relations between Iran and Iraq could thwart a whole host of plots hatched by the aliens and supporters of terrorism,” Larijani said in a meeting with the former prime minister of the Iraqi Kurdistan region, Barham Ahmad Salih, held in the Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah on Friday.
Larijani arrived in Iraq on Tuesday as the final destination of his tour of the regional states that took him earlier to Syria and Lebanon.
In the Friday meeting, the Kurdish politician also hailed Iran as the “most influential country in the region," and expressed gratitude to Tehran for the support it has provided for Iraq in the fight against terrorism.
Salih also praised the “very good ties” between Iran and the Iraqi Kurdistan region, stressing that Larijani’s visit to the semi-autonomous region would enhance political, economic and cultural ties between Tehran and Erbil.
Earlier during his stay in Iraq, Larijani held meetings with the leading religious figure Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Najaf and had a meeting with his Iraqi counterpart Salim al-Jabouri in Baghdad.
