Convergence among Muslim states key to preventing spread of terrorism in region: Iran president to Iraqi PM

In a phone conversation with Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia’ al-Sudani on Sunday, Pezeshkian said unity among Muslim countries will help Syria in its fight against terrorist groups.

Pointing to the recent resurgence of Takfiri terrorism in Syria, he added, “Such incidents are part of the Zionist regime’s sinister plans to spread insecurity, discord and conflict among Muslim countries.”

He emphasized that Iran’s regional strategy is based on protecting territorial integrity of countries such as Syria.

“Under the circumstances that the region was moving towards relative peace following the establishment of a ceasefire in Lebanon and attention was focused on Gaza, recent events in Syria raised serious concerns about regional security,” Pezeshkian pointed out.

He expressed Iran’s readiness for any type of cooperation with the purpose of combating terrorist moves and maintaining security in the region.

Terror outfits led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its allied terrorist factions launched on Friday their largest assault in Syria in years and took control of parts of the country’s second-biggest city, Aleppo, and advanced southward toward the city of Hama.

However, the Syrian army announced later that it thwarted the large-scale terrorist operations through a preemptive strike.

On Sunday, Russian and Syrian warplanes targeted militant positions in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib to repel an offensive by foreign-sponsored Takfiri terrorists.

The Iraqi prime minister, for his part, expressed concern over the expansion of insecurity in northern Syria and warned that the recent terrorist moves are part of an Israeli attempt to undermine security and disintegrate Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

He urged the international community and regional countries to play a dynamic diplomatic role to prevent the spread of terrorism.

Otherwise, Sudani said, acts of terror will pose a serious danger to global peace and security.

He also expressed his country’s readiness to play an active role in the fight against terrorist groups and said Baghdad is in constant contact with regional countries to prepare the ground for joint cooperation in this regard.

The Iraqi government and nation will focus all its attention on the battle against terrorism and will thwart the Israeli regime’s sinister plots to promote sectarianism, he emphasized.