Iran, Russia to Boost Cooperation in Fight against Terrorism: Rouhani

Speaking at joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Tehran on Monday night, President Rouhani expressed deep concern over the spread of terrorism in the world, saying that today, the phenomenon has posed a great threat to the region and the world.

“Unlike those who are pretending to fight against terrorism, Iran and Russia have demonstrated that they are serious about fighting against terrorism,” he noted.

Rouhani further emphasized that the two countries will further expand cooperation in the counter-terrorism campaign.

Putin, for his part, said without Iran’s cooperation in the anti-terror campaign in Syria, success would have been impossible to achieve.

He said Russian-led operation is a “complex” mission that also involves efforts by a coalition which includes Syria, Iran and Iraq.

“All this is done, of course, in agreement with the Iranian partners,” said Putin. “I think that without them (Iran) it would be impossible.” 

Before the press conference, high-ranking Iranian and Russian officials signed seven agreements and MoUs aimed at deepening and strengthening the existing cooperation and ties between the two countries.

Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with Takfiri terrorists from various groups, including the ISIL, currently controlling parts of it.

Meanwhile, Russia’s recent aerial support for the Syrian forces has given fresh impetus to the fight against the foreign-backed terrorists.

Since late September, Russia has been carrying out bombings against the ISIL terrorists in Syria, after Russia’s parliament granted President Putin authorization to deploy the country’s air force abroad.

In the past four and a half years, more than 250,000 people have died in Syria -overwhelmingly civilians- and around 4 million Syrian people are now refugees in other countries. Around 8 million others have been displaced internally.