Zarif also expressed hope that Iraq would overcome its problems through wisdom of the Iraqi officials, and pledged the Islamic Republic’s support for Iraq, especially in the fight against violence and extremism.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met with Iraqi Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri in Tehran on Saturday expressing optimism that Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's planned reforms for uprooting corruption would end in a better future for the Arab country.
Iran hopes that “the reform process in Iraq would yield favorable results through consultation and cooperation between all groups and legal bodies in Iraq,” Zarif said during the meeting.
He highlighted the peace process in Iraq as well as contribution of all Iraqi groups to building the future of the country, and praised Iran’s western neighbor as an influential Muslim country.
Zarif also expressed hope that Iraq would overcome its problems through wisdom of the Iraqi officials, and pledged the Islamic Republic’s support for Iraq, especially in the fight against violence and extremism.
For his part, the Iraqi official praised Iran’s contribution to stability in the Middle East region.
Jabouri praised Iran’s support for Iraq throughout its crisis and urged the Islamic Republic to continue its support for his country.
Iraq Speaker Meets Shamkhani
The Iraqi parliament speaker also held a separate meeting with Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), on Saturday, during which he praised Iran’s constant support for his country and called for further promotion of Tehran-Baghdad ties.
In the meeting, Shamkhani called for the vigilance of Iraqi political leaders in the face of plots aimed at creating "political and religious rifts" in the country.
“Countering organized efforts by the enemies of Iraq, who seek, through [hiring] religious extremists and the remnants of the [former ruling] Baathist regime, to create political and religious rifts [in the Arab country] requires boosting vigilance among the country’s political leaders,” he said.
He also underlined the need for the reconstruction of areas liberated from terrorists in Iraq and voiced Iran’s readiness to help develop the Arab country’s infrastructure.
Touching on the refugee crisis in Europe, Shamkhani said that lack of serious action by the West and its so-called campaign to fight ISIL is to blame for the crisis which, he said, has familiarized the world with the sufferings of Iraqi and Syrian people.
Europe is facing an unprecedented refugee crisis, which has escalated over the summer as refugees are coming directly to the continent instead of staying in camps in neighboring countries.
The continent is now divided over how to deal with the flood of people, mainly Syrians fleeing the four-year foreign-backed militancy in their homeland. Iraqis also constitute a large portion of Europe-heading refugees who are fleeing the ISIL-escalated crisis in their country.
