Arms flow to Iraq, Syria must stop: Iran official

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s chief of staff has called for an end to the dispatch of weapons to Iraq and Syria as well as financial support for terrorists, urging all countries to band together to combat terrorism.
“The issue of violence and extremism is not confined to national borders and has turned into an international issue. Fighting terrorism should be put on all countries’ agenda in every part of the world, and no discrimination is acceptable in that regard,” Mohammad Nahavandian told reporters in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, on Friday.
He added that the United States has so far adopted no serious measure to counter terrorism in Iraq.
The senior Iranian official emphasized that foreign intervention is a nonstarter when it comes to the settlement of the crisis in Iraq, urging all countries to support democracy and the Iraqi people’s demands.
He expressed Iran’s concerns about Iraq developments, saying Tehran scrutinizes the ongoing events in the country.
“Iran is ready to help the Iraqi people and government upon their request. We are seriously concerned about holy shrines, as are the Iraqi people. If the Iraqi people want action to be taken, they will receive the appropriate response,” Nahavandian said.
O Wednesday, Iran’s President Rouhani said the Muslim Iraqi nation will push back terrorists and their supporters, stressing that the Islamic Republic will spare no effort to protect holy shrines in Iraq.
He added that all superpowers, mercenaries and terrorists should know that the great Iranian nation makes every effort to safeguard holy shrines in the Iraqi cities of Karbala, Najaf, Kadhimiya and Samarra.
Over the past days, Iraqi armed forces have been engaged in fierce clashes with the terrorists, who have threatened to take their acts of violence to other Iraqi cities, including the capital, Baghdad.
However, their advance has been slowed down as Iraqi military forces and volunteer fighters have begun engaging them on several fronts, pushing the militants out of several areas they had earlier overrun.