TEHRAN- The prime minister of Iraq has expressed gratitude to Iran for supporting his nation in its battle against the terrorist group Daesh, citing several areas of shared interest between the two countries.

Mohammed Shia al-Sudani made the remarks in an interview with the al-Rafidain Center for Dialogue, which was published on Sunday, according to Iraq’s Al-Ahed news agency.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran is our neighbor and we have many religious and social commonalities. During the fight against Daesh, Iran stood by us,” Sudani noted. 

He went on to say that the Iraqi government is attempting to bring the various groups’ points of view closer together.

After launching a terror campaign in Iraq in 2014, the Takfiri terrorist group quickly expanded its influence throughout the region by conducting sprawling strikes.

After a three-year military counterterrorism effort in which Hashd al-Shaabi, also known as Popular Mobilization Units, played a significant role, Iraq proclaimed victory over the terrorist group in December 2017.

The former prime minister of Iraq, Nouri al-Maliki, acknowledged in December of last year that Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, the late commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, was crucial to the success of the war against terrorism in his nation. 

Without General Soleimani’s support, Iraq would not have been able to defeat the terrorists from Daesh.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Sudani discussed how an alleged international coalition headed by the United States accounted for the foreign soldiers stationed in Iraq.

“All conditions and issues, which had caused the international coalition to be present in Iraq are now gone,” the Iraqi prime minister said. 

Al-Sudani continued by saying that his government will continue efforts to end the presence of foreign troops in Iraq.

“The mission of foreign [military] advisors will come to an end according to a timetable to be drawn up by the Higher Military Committee,” he added. 

The goal of the committee’s establishment in January was to schedule the gradual departure of foreign forces from Iraq and the dissolution of the coalition led by the United States.

Based on unfounded allegations that Baghdad possessed WMD, the U.S. attacked Iraq in 2003, causing murder, mayhem, and devastation throughout the Arab nation.

In 2014, the United States and its allies allegedly resumed a military operation to counter Daesh. 

The group first appeared in neighboring Syria and Iraq after Washington ran out of reasons to continue or expand its interference in the West Asia region. 

The U.S. military declared that it would withdraw its combat operations from Iraq in 2021, although it would keep about 2,500 troops there ostensibly as advisors.

Additionally, the Israeli massacre in the Gaza Strip continues, and the prime minister of Iraq blasted the international community for its inability to stop such ruthless massacre. 

“The issue of Palestine is a fundamental issue for the people of Iraq,” Sudani said, adding, “The [Iraqi] government’s position is that the aggression against Gaza must stop and the scope of [the Israeli] war [on the territory] should not expand.”