Iraqi President Hails Tehran's Support for Baghdad in Fight against ISIL
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iraqi President Fuad Masum expressed his gratitude for the "valuable assistance" provided by Iran for the Arab country in its campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorist group.
"I would like to thank Iran for the valuable assistance that it has provided for Iraq from the first day of the fight against ISIL…," Masum said Wednesday at a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani in Tehran.
He described ISIL as the enemy of all regional nations and said the terrorist group has declared a war on everyone in the region.
The Iraqi president arrived at Tehran's Mehrabad Airport Tuesday at the head of a high-ranking delegation that includes the Arab country's tourism, environment and trade ministers.
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.
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.