Iraqi Minister Hails Iran’s Efforts in Fight against ISIL

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has always supported us from the very first days of the fall of the former regime (Saddam Hussein's Baath regime) and the begining of the new political process in Iraq,” Ghabban told reporters in a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli in Tehran on Saturday.

"Iran has also supported the new government in Iraq," he added.

Pointing to the ongoing war against terrorist groups in the Arab country and Iran's key role in the counter-terrorism efforts, the Iraqi minister said, “We appreciate Iran’s efforts and the wise leadership of the country in the fight against the ISIL."

The Iraqi minister also emphasized that Iran enjoys great experiences in the fight against terrorism, and asked Tehran to share them with Baghdad.

He went on to say that over the past years, much of Iraq’s infrastructure has been destroyed, and therefore the country is in dire need of facilities, equipment and training.

"Iran can help us in this regard."

Iraq has been facing the growing threat of terrorism, mainly posed by the ISIL terrorist group.

The ISIL militants made swift advances in much of northern and western Iraq over the summer, after capturing large swaths of northern Syria.

However, a combination of concentrated attacks by the Iraqi military and the volunteer forces, who rushed to take arms after top Iraqi cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani issued a fatwa calling for fight against the militants, have blunted the edge of the ISIL offensive and retaken many towns and villages.

Amid tensions in Iraq, Iran is known as the first country to help the Arab country and has always voiced support for Iraq’s solidarity and prosperity.