TEHRAN - Saad Abdul Wahab Jawad Qandil, the Iraqi ambassador to Tehran, said on Wednesday that Iran and Iraq are in the same front.

According to Tasnim, he said in a conference in Tehran that foreign plots are at work to cause chaos in the region.

The United States has not hidden its anger over the friendly ties between Tehran and Baghdad. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have also made efforts to undermine relations between Iran and Iraq. 

Iran rushed to the support of Iraq when ISIS (Daesh) launched a sudden and rapid attack against Iraq and captured large swathes of the Iraqi territory in the summer of 2014.

Mohammad Mehdi Boroumandi, deputy chairman of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said on Monday that Iran spares no effort in helping the Iraqi people.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran wants Iraq, as a neighboring and friendly country, be in peace. So, [Iran] will spare no effort in helping the Iraqi people,” ISNA quoted him as saying.

He also called on all Iraqi groups to make efforts in line with protecting their country’s territorial integrity.

Protests in Iraq began on October 1 over the failing economy and demand for political and anti-corruption reforms. The rallies have, however, turned into violent confrontations on numerous occasions. 

According to the Iraqi parliament’s human rights commission, more than 300 people have been killed in the country.

In an interview with the Mehr news agency published on Monday, Hassan Danaeefar, the former Iranian Ambassador to Iraq, said that it is the Iraqi people who should decide about the destiny of their own country.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has always wanted peace, welfare, and progress for Iraq and also peaceful life for all Iraqi groups,” he said.

The former ambassador also noted that despite what the enemies claim, Iran enjoys “credibility” and not “influence” in Iraq. 

NA/PA