Support for terrorists will backfire: Iran official

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Morteza Sarmadi has warned that terrorist groups will strike back on the countries currently supporting them.

“The support of certain countries for terrorist groups and using them as a tool for political gains will sooner or later backfire on them (the supporting countries),” Sarmadi said in a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad on Thursday.

Sarmadi is leading an Iranian delegation to a two-day international counter-terrorism conference, which is wrapping up on Thursday in the Iraqi capital.

He reaffirmed the Islamic Republic’s full support for the Iraqi government and nation in their fight against terrorism.

Sarmadi also stated that Iran and Iraq shared views on the necessity of finding a political solution to the crisis in Syria.

During the meeting, al-Maliki, for his part, said the terrorist and extremist groups have extended their activities to beyond the Middle East and their acts of terror have even reached Europe.

In an address to the conference on Wednesday, al-Maliki said, “Terrorism has become a global issue that is geographically expanding and its aftershocks will reach European and international capitals in a short period of time.”

Syria has been gripped by deadly violence since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies – especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey – are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.

The foreign-sponsored terrorism in Syria has spilled over to neighboring Iraq and the al-Qaeda-linked forces of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have infiltrated the western Iraqi province of Anbar.

Iraqi security forces have launched a military operation to drive the ISIL terrorists out.