TEHRAN – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said that the Iraqi people will not allow other countries to make decision for them country.

Rouhani made the remarks during a joint press conference with Iraqi President Fuad Masum in Tehran on Wednesday.

The Iraqi people seek “stability and integrity” of their country and will not allow the other countries to break up their country, Rouhani stated in indirect reference to a proposed legislation by the U.S. House of Representatives Armed Service Committee which would allow 25 percent of $715 million aid for security assistance to Iraqi forces fighting ISIL to go directly to Peshmerga and Sunni forces.

Some politicians and analysts consider the move by the House committee as a preliminary step for breaking up Iraq.

President Rouhani expressed Tehran’s opposition to any comments aimed at disrupting the unity of Iraq, saying he believed the great Iraqi nation would never allow people of other countries to even make comments on the disintegration of their country.

---------Iran will support Iraq in fight against terrorism------

Rouhani went on to say that Iran attaches great importance to stability and security of Iraq and will help the Iraqi government to counter terrorism.

The Iranian president also highlighted the importance of cooperation among the countries in the Mideast region to settle regional crises.

He went on to say that “those who think that terrorist groups are tools” to advance “their policies in the region are mistaken”.

Commenting on the crisis in Yemen, he said that an immediate ceasefire should be declared in Yemen because the Yemenis need food, medicines, and physicians.

He added that “the issue of Yemen is not political and regional, rather it is a humanitarian issue” for the whole world.

The Iraqi president praised Iran’s help in fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Masum, an ethnic Kurd, described ISIL as a “danger” to the whole region.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Iraqi president expressed his dismay over “military interference” in Yemen, saying that the war in Yemen will just lead to more “divisions” among the Yemeni people.

On the nuclear talks between Iran and the 5+1 group (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany), he expressed the hope that nuclear talks would eventually lead to a comprehensive and final nuclear pact, adding that a final deal will benefit all the countries.

He went on to say that there is no need to feel fear of a nuclear agreement between Iran and the major powers.

In his meeting with Rouhani, Masum also said Iraq does not believe in changing the current government in Syria, saying terrorist are trying to replace the Syrian political system.

“Iraq does not agree with the toppling the Syrian political system and believes that the alternative to this system will be terrorists,” the Iraqi president noted.

-----------Unfair oil price--------

Rouhani also urged Iran and Iraq to join hands to stabilize global oil prices, saying Tehran and Baghdad share many economic interests and should stand against the “unfair reduction of oil price.”

Touching on environmental issues, the Iranian president stated that the issue of particles polluting the environments of Iraq and Iran at times is a common challenge and a regional cooperation is needed to address the issue.

NA/PA