Iran, Iraq should join hands to counter enemies’ plots: Iran’s Vice President

Iran and Iraq should boost coordination and expand Tehran-Baghdad cooperation to counter the enemies’ plots in the region, Iranian First Vice President Eshagh Jahangiri says.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran closely monitors issues in Iraq and regards Iraq’s stability and security as its own security and stands by the Iraqi government and nation under the current difficult conditions,” Jahangiri said in a meeting with Iraq’s Vice President Nouri al-Maliki in Tehran on Monday.

“We believe that collective security and stability in the region will be achieved only through joint regional cooperation,” he added.

Jahangiri stressed the importance of safeguarding Iraq’s territorial integrity through unity, expressing hope that the Iraqi officials’ wisdom would lead to the settlement of the country’s problems as soon as possible.

The Iranian vice president further called on regional countries to bolster cooperation to eliminate terrorism.

Maliki, for his part, pointed to the existing sensitive situation in the region and called on regional countries to converge in order to counter terrorist groups including the ISIL militants.

He said Tehran and Baghdad have great opportunities to improve economic, political, security, social and cultural relations and noted that the two sides have taken major steps to achieve this goal.

The ISIL terrorists currently control large areas of Iraq. The group sent its militants into Iraq in June, seizing large parts of land straddling the border between Syria and Iraq.

The ISIL militants have been carrying out horrific acts of violence, including public decapitations, against Iraqi communities such as Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, and Christians.

The Iraqi army has managed to make a number of gains in the fight against the ISIL militants in recent weeks.