Tehran, Baghdad Enjoying Best Ties Ever: Iraqi Diplomat
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iraq’s cultural attaché in Iran praised the growing relations between the two neighboring countries and said they are enjoying the best-ever ties in diverse fields, including economy and culture.
“Today, Iran and Iraq are enjoying the best relations we have ever witnessed between the two countries,” Yasser Abdul Zahra Al-Hajjaj said in an interview with the Tasnim News Agency.
“Today, in political and strategic terms, the two countries are considered strategic depths for one another,” he said.
“From an economic point of view, today Iran is the second or third trade partner of Iraq, with the value of the bilateral trade estimated at $12-15 billion (per year).”
Hajjaj also pointed to recent victories of the Iraqi army and popular forces against foreign-backed Takfiri terrorists and said the achievements were gained thanks to Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and Iran’s uninterrupted support for the Arab country.
Iraq has been facing the growing threat of terrorism, mainly posed by the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group.
Daesh militants made swift advances in much of northern and western Iraq over the summer of 2014, after capturing large swaths of northern Syria.
However, a combination of concentrated attacks by the Iraqi military and the volunteer forces, who rushed to take arms after top Iraqi cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani issued a fatwa calling for the fight against the militants, blunted the edge of Daesh offensive and later made the terrorist group retreat from most of the territory it had occupied.
Amid tensions in Iraq, Iran is known as the first country to help the Arab country and has always voiced support for Iraq’s territorial integrity and prosperity.
