During the Thursday meeting, Jahangiri congratulated the Iraqi prime minister on the latest victories of the Iraqi nation and government in fight against terrorist groups and said the Islamic Republic of Iran has always stood by the Iraqis in their fight against terrorism.

“We will continue to stand bythem during the future reconstruction era,” the Iranian official was quoted as saying in a Farsi report by IRNA.

“The achievements were made with the efficient management of Iraqi officials as well as the prudent role played by the top religious leaders and the sacrifices made by the Iraqi forces,” he noted.

He described the ties between Iran and Iraq as ‘excellent’ and ‘exemplary’, saying the ties are deeply rooted in the long-time religious, civilizational and historical commonalities between the two sides.

The Iranian officials called the recent secession vote in Iraqi Kurdistan region “a great sedition” and said the plight could have spread to other parts of the region if the Iraqi officials had not prudently stopped it.

For his part, Abadi referred to the challenges that the region is facing including the presence of terrorist groups,adding that the challenges have paved the way for several wars leaving many people dead.

He stressed that all regional efforts should be focused on preventing the collapse of the whole region and called on the regional states to establish ties and pursue common regional interests.

The Iraqi prime minister also said his country is preparing for the last stage of its military offensive against ISIS and added fortunately the recent victories in fight against terrorism have led to further unity among the Iraqis.

“Fight against terrorist groups requires cooperation among all regional states” he said.

Abadi also referred to the illegal secession referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan region and said, “We are after a unified Iraq and fortunately, with the international support, we have managed to prevent the secession of Kurdistan region.”