Rouhani says Iran to continue supporting Iraq in fight against terror

The Iranian President on Thursday said during a meeting in Tehran with the Iraqi Prime Minister that his country would continue to support Iraq in the fight against terror despite the United States' disapproval.

Hassan Rouhani asserted that Iran has always supported Iraq and the government of Haider al-Abadi in fighting terrorism and maintaining territorial integrity, adding that Tehran was willing to participate in the process of reconstruction in the conflict-torn country, Efe reported.

"Iran is ready to contribute without sparing any efforts to the restoration and development process of Iraq, and to stand behind the Iraqi nation and government," Rouhani said in a statement, as quoted by the official Irna news agency.

The Iranian president also praised the Iraqi government's treatment of the crisis with Iraqi Kurdistan and spoke against "separatist policies that could undermine Iraq's unity and territorial integrity."

The Iraqi government on Thursday rejected a Kurdish proposal to "freeze" the outcome of the referendum on independence held last September, while Iraqi pro-government militias announced an operation against Kurdish forces in the border area between Iraq, Syria and Turkey.

For his part, al-Abadi stressed the importance of Iraq's unity and territorial integrity, claiming that "conflicts and tensions in the region give way to foreign intervention in regional countries' affairs."

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Monday called for "Iranian militias" to leave Iraq and called for building a new Iraq away from the influence of Iran and its militias.

Al-Abadi's visit to Tehran, where he also met Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, is part of a tour of the region that included Turkey and Saudi Arabia, among other countries.

--IANS

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