TEHRAN- Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi has said that any act of provocation by terrorist and separatist organizations will jeopardize regional stability and this will not be acceptable.

Raisi made the remarks in a phone call with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on Saturday in an open reference to Iranian separatist and militant groups that have taken refuge in northern Iraqi Kurdistan. 

Tehran and Baghdad have been enhancing their security ties in order to achieve a lasting peace, the president remarked.

He also praised the extraordinary efforts made by the Iraqi government and people to host Iranian pilgrims and organize the world’s largest yearly religious gathering, the Arbaeen ritual. 

The rituals represented the Muslims’ resilience and solidarity, the president pointed out.

The 40-day period of mourning for Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) - the third Shia Imam, and his 72 companions who were martyred in the Battle of Karbala in southern Iraq in 680 AD – came to a conclusion on Wednesday, September 6. 

Millions of pilgrims participate from all around the world in an 80-kilometer trek between the revered Iraqi cities of Najaf and Karbala.

The Iranian president also praised the start of a project to build a railway connecting Basra in Iraq with Shalamcheh in Iran.

The cross-border railway project would facilitate and promote business contacts and also enhance pilgrimage security between the two nations, Raisi remarked.

The Shalamcheh-Basra railway project was finally agreed upon by Iran and Iraq in 2021 after being in construction for many years. Prior to that, preparations were put on hold in 2014, the same year when militants affiliated with Daesh took control of substantial portions of northern Iraq and eastern Syria.

After several setbacks, efforts were rekindled in April when Tehran and Baghdad came to an agreement to build the railway during a meeting in the Iranian capital between Razzaq Mohibis al-Saadawi, the Iraqi Minister of Transport, and Mehrdad Bazrpash, Iranian Minister of Transport and Housing. According to reports, the railway project is expected to go on stream in the next 18 months.

Sudani, for his part, reaffirmed Iraq’s commitment to combating any forces that threaten the region’s long-term stability. 

According to the Iraqi prime minister, the large number of Iranian pilgrims who attended the Arbaeen ceremony revealed the two countries’ deeply held shared ideals.

He maintained that the start of the Shalamcheh-Basra railway project demonstrates the Iraqi government’s steadfast commitment to improving ties with Iran in all areas.