TEHRAN — Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, met on Monday with Ghasem Mohammad Al-Araji, Iraq’s national security advisor, in Tehran on Monday.

In the meeting, Shamkhani explained the causes of instability in the region and called the United States the biggest cause of insecurity and organized terrorism in the region.

Shamkhani suggested that accelerating the implementation of the Iraqi parliament's ratification on the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq will strengthen and stabilize the situation in Iraq.

Iran’s top security official said the assassination of resistance commanders, including Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani and PMU deputy commander Abu Mahdi Muhandis, clearly proved the role of the United States in strengthening the Takfiri terrorism.

Iran and Iraq have formed a joint committee to investigate the assassination of General Soleimani.

 “Prosecution and punishment of the perpetrators of this terrorist crime is one of the priorities of the security cooperation between the two countries, and in this regard, we expect more from the Iraqi government.”

General Soleimani was a guest of then Iraqi minister when he was assassinated near Iraq’s international airport on January 3, 2020 by an order from Donald Trump.

Shamkhani also expressed concern over the reactivation of agents affiliated with the ISIS terrorist group in Iraq, saying, "There is credible information that the Americans are trying to maintain their presence in Iraq by creating insecurity by supporting ISIS forces and moving them to different parts of the country."

The top Iranian security chief also referred to the anti-security movements of counter-revolutionary and terrorist agents in northern Iraq, stressing the need for more Tehran-Baghdad cooperation to end evil acts by these groups.

Shamkhani also suggested establishing new security frameworks among the countries of the region to combat common security threats.

For his part, Iraq's national security adviser praised Iran's strategic and privileged role in establishing stability and security in the region and fight against terrorism, and stressed the need to continue and expand comprehensive cooperation between Iran and Iraq.

Pointing to the actions taken upon order by the Iraqi prime minister to deal with terrorist groups in northern Iraq, al-Araji said, "The necessary coordination have been taken with the officials of the Kurdistan region to deal with terrorist groups in northern Iraq, some of which started with the U.S. support.”

He also said the Iraqi government is committed to implement the parliament's law on the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq, adding that “executive measures are being taken in coordination with the countries whose troops are present in Iraq to achieve the agreed timetable.”

The Iraqi national security adviser also praised Iran’s progress and its resistance against economic sanctions.

“Iran's continuous progress in various dimensions in the face of unprecedented economic sanctions has made true lovers of Iran proud.”

SA/PA