Iran’s President described Iraq as a good friend and neighbor of Iran and stressed the need to develop and deepen relations between the two countries in all fields, especially economic and trade cooperation, saying, “Tehran and Baghdad can play an important role in regional developments and be influential by developing bilateral and regional cooperation”.
Speaking on Wednesday in a telephone conversation with Iraqi President Barham Salih, President Hassan Rouhani congratulated the government and people of the neighboring Muslim country on the arrival of the holy month of Ramadan, announcing the Islamic Republic’s support for stability, security, independence and territorial integrity of Iraq.
He added, “Strengthening the dignity, authority and independence of Iraq, and promoting the country’s regional and international position is especially important for us”.
Stating that Iran considers the security of Iraq as its own, the President said, “We oppose any foreign interference in the internal affairs of Iraq and we consider it to the detriment of the country and the whole region, and believe that regional security should be ensured by the countries of the region”.
“The Americans have always played a destructive role in the region, and the presence of American troops in the region has not helped to bring peace and stability in any way,” he said, adding that the Americans are showing double standard in the fight against terrorism and their actions on the Iraqi-Syrian border are ambiguous.
Dr. Rouhani continued the conversation by emphasizing the need to accelerate the implementation and operationalization of previous agreements, including the Shalamcheh-Basra railway project and the connection of the two countries’ railways, adding, “Given their economic potential, Iran and Iraq can develop cooperation as two complementary economies”.
In this telephone conversation, Iraqi President Barham Salih congratulated the government and people of Iran on the holy month of Ramadan, calling the relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran strategic and developing.
The Iraqi President stressed, “The Iraqi government is determined to seriously pursue and implement all agreements between the two countries in various fields, which will be in the interest of both countries and the region”.
Barham Salih also stressed the importance of establishing peace and stability in the region and the cooperation of all neighboring countries to achieve this goal, adding, “The decision of the Iraqi government to end the presence of foreign troops in the country is serious and negotiations have been taken place with the Americans in this regard, which will continue until the final result is achieved”.