Iran will continue advisory assistance to Syria, Iraq: Shamkhani

A senior Iranian official says the Islamic Republic will continue providing advisory assistance to Syria and Iraq to fully eliminate the threat of terrorist groups in the Middle East.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran will proceed with its expanded advisory cooperation with and assistance to the Iraqi and Syrian governments until complete elimination of the threat of terrorist seditious acts in the region,” Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani said in a meeting with Iraqi National Security Adviser Faleh al-Fayyad in Tehran on Tuesday.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on August 10 hailed the presence of Iranian military advisors in the country’s battle against Daesh terrorists and said the Iranian advisors are present in Iraq on Baghdad’s request.

Iran has also been providing advisory assistance to Syria as per a request by the Arab country’s government.

Shamkhani further pointed to enemy plots to divide and weaken Muslim countries, adding that supporting extremist ideology and Takfiri terrorism, plotting and implementing coups and fueling internal differences in Muslim states are among the main plans of the arrogant system to undermine the Muslim world.

He expressed regret that certain regional countries are moving in the opposite direction to the global current of cooperation with Iran after its nuclear agreement with six world powers last year, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and merely seek to fan the flames of sectarian and religious differences.

The SNSC secretary also pointed to recent achievements of the Iraqi government and popular forces in the campaign against terrorist groups and said a united Iraq would soon regain its real political, economic and security position at regional and international levels.

“The continuous successes of the Iraqi army and popular forces in the fight against Takfiri terrorism and a considerable improvement of the security situation in the country have prepared the ground for a leap in trade and economic relations between Tehran and Baghdad as two strategic partners,” Shamkhani added.

The northern and western parts of Iraq have been plagued with gruesome violence ever since Daesh terrorists mounted an offensive in the country in June 2014.

Iraqi government forces, backed by fighters from allied Popular Mobilization Units, have been pushing the militants out of the country’s territory.

The Iraqi senior official, for his part, said Baghdad would strongly confront any effort aimed to spread insecurity or divide the country, and praised Iran’s support for Iraq’s fight against Daesh terrorists.

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