Iran: Unity with Iraq guarantee against common threats

Unity between Iran and Iraq is a guarantee against common threats, says the chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces.

Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri made the remarks on Wednesday during a meeting with Iraqi National Security Adviser Faleh al-Fayyad in Tehran on Wednesday.

He stressed that bolstering “unity between the two countries, establishing stable security, creating joint border committees and negotiations” would be beneficial to regional security.

Baqeri also hailed the improvement in the Iraq’s security situation in the wake of the recent gains made by Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units in the fight against Daesh.

Iraqi fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units ride on the back of a vehicle in the city of Baiji, north of Tikrit, in Salahuddin province, on June 7, 2015. (AFP)

Fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units, allied with the Iraqi army, have been an efficient force in attempts to recapture militant-held areas.

He also expressed hope that the Iraqi army would defeat Daesh and liberate the city of Mosul and other terrorist-held regions in the country in the near future.

Last week, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced that the Iraqi army was engaged in the final stages of planning the latest operations aimed at ridding Mosul from the Daesh terrorists, who overran the country’s second largest city in the summer of 2014.

The city is the last remaining bastion of Daesh in Iraq as the military and allies have managed to retake key towns and villages from the militants over the past months.

The northern and western parts of Iraq have been plagued by gruesome violence ever since Daesh terrorists mounted their offensive in June 2014. The militants have been committing vicious crimes against all ethnic and religious communities in Iraq, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds and Christians.