“Iran-Iraq Ties Not to Be Affected by US Mischievous Interference”

At the close of his visit to Iraq, Hatami thanked the Iraqi side for their warm hospitality and said the two sides enjoy good relations in various areas.
“The relations between Iran and Iraq are deep in political, economic, and cultural and defence fields and won’t be influenced by the troublesome interference of the US,” he was quoted as saying in a Farsi report by Tasnim News Agency.
He referred to the Thursday meeting between Iranian, Iraqi, Syrian and Russian delegations in Baghdad to coordinate “anti-terrorism” efforts and said during the meeting, the participants underlined the urgency to strengthen military, defence and security relations.
Iran’s Defence Minister also said during his visit, he held talks with Iraqi officials on preparing the ground for further bilateral relations in defence area and said the prospect of relations between Iran and Iraq in the defence field is bright and the Islamic Republic of Iran feels duty-bound to take part in Iraq’s reconstruction.
Touching on the first Joint High Commission for Defence Cooperation between Iran and Iraq, he said the meeting managed to achieve its goals.
He expressed Iran’s preparedness to stand by Iraqis under any condition and added following the defeat of ISIS in Iraq, reconstruction of the country has turned into one of the main priorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
“We support Iraq’s territorial integrity for further progress of the country,” he concluded.