TEHRAN – Iran is stable and militarily advanced and that Iraq needs its support, according to Amer al-Faez, a member of the Iraqi Parliament’s Foreign Relations Committee.

The lawmaker’s remarks came after the Iraqi Defense Minister, Juma Inad Saadoun, visited Iran on Saturday on an official visit at the invitation of his Iranian counterpart Brigadier General Amir Hatami.

The Iraqi defense minister met with Hatami and other high-ranking Iranian officials including Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Bagheri and Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.

Al-Faez described the Iraqi defense minister's visit to the Islamic Republic as part of the historical and necessary communication and military cooperation between the two brotherly countries, stressing that the Iranian and Iraqi peoples are one nation, and Iraq does not forget Iran’s distinguished and honorable position in purging the filth of Daesh from the land of Iraq.

“Communication between the two brotherly countries is necessary and in the interest of the two countries, and cooperation between the Islamic Republic and Iraq is a historical issue, especially the new Iraq after the fall of the dictatorial regime,” the Iraqi lawmaker told the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

Al-Faez added, “The visit by the Iraqi defense minister to the Islamic Republic comes to consolidate this relationship and complete the previous process. This relationship is not new or unlikely. Rather, it is continuous communication and serves both countries, especially since the Islamic Republic today is stable and advanced militarily, and Iraq today needs the support and cooperation of friendly countries in the region, first and foremost the support of the Islamic Republic.”

“With regard to the fight against terrorism, the history testifies that the blood has been mixed and that when Daesh desecrated the land of Iraq, the position of the Islamic Republic was distinctive and honorable, and everyone admits that.  It sent field commanders, sent weapons, sent money, and trained Iraqi fighters,” said al-Faez.

He also said that the shared political, military, and economic interests encourage the leaders of the two countries to continue and strengthen cooperation between Tehran and Baghdad.

Commenting on Iran’s call for countries of the region to protect the region from foreign interference, al-Faez said, “The Iranian approach raises the morale of the region and strengthens the region’s position…. This means that Iran today calls on the countries of the region to be self-sufficient. Iran did not reach what it is today until after it became self-sufficient.”

He went further to say, “The statements of Imam Khomeini is a witness to history, when he said, ‘A country does not advance unless it relies on itself,’ and from this standpoint, he made Iran and the Iranians really depend on themselves by developing weapons and the economy and by rolling up their sleeves until today, Iran is one of the great powers in the region and on the course of the superpowers of the world.”

The Iraqi lawmaker stated, “The Islamic Republic's call for the countries of the region to protect the region and keep it away from foreign interference, is really a liberation of the region, an increase in its stability and independence, and a non-interference of distant countries in the internal affairs of the region, especially since it is a rich region and all countries of the world are focused on it.”

Al-Faez called on the leaders of the region to cooperate in this regard if they can independently make decisions, adding that the European Union has become a strong power in the world because it confronted the American expansion and because they created unity among themselves.

SM/PA