Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei receives Chief of Iraq’s Kurdistan region administration Masoud Barzani, praises Iraq’s resisting stance.

The Supreme Leader of Iran Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei praised Iraq’s resisting stance that forced the US occupation to withdraw from the Iraqi territories, and reassured Iran’s support for an integrated, stable Iraq.

The Islamic Republic News Agency IRNA reported that “Ayatollah Khamenei saluted the Iraqi government’s opposition to giving judicial immunity to the occupying troops, and said that such efforts which would make the US forces leave the Iraqi territories will be considered golden pages in the country's history.”

His Eminence made the statement while receiving Chief of Iraq’s Kurdistan region administration Masoud Barzani Sunday.

"Despite the US military and political presence in Iraq and Washington’s pressures on the country, all Iraqi people including Kurds, Arabs, Shia and Sunni Muslims said ‘No’ to US,” Ayatollah Khamenei said, welcoming the coexistence between various Iraqi ethnic and religious groups, and indicating that “the modern Iraq must be built by the unity and solidarity of all its groups.”

In parallel, IRNA reported that “Iran’s supreme leader highlighted the urgent need to reconstruct Iraq and expressed his pleasure with the existing amicable ties between Iran and Iraq, calling for further expansion of all-out relations between the two nations.”

For his part, Barzani assured that Iran is a very close friend to the Iraqi people, and expressed his appreciation to the Iranian government and nation for their assistance to Iraq during its crisis.