FM: Iran gives high importance to Iraq's security
Iraq-Iran, Politics, 2/4/2007

Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said yesterday that Iraq's security is of special significance both to Iraqi people and all regional states, in particular Iran.

He made the remark after talks with the visiting Head of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) Abdul Aziz al-Hakim during a joint press conference with the Iraqi official.

Mottaki said that today the Middle East developments are so closely associated with each other that insecurity at one point can spread to the entire region.

He referred to the will of regional states to contribute to promoting security across the region, adding that invitations have been sent by Iraqi government to the foreign ministries of its neighboring countries to attend the March meeting in Baghdad.

The proposal for holding the two-day meeting (March 10-11) in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad was primarily submitted by the foreign ministries of Iran and Syria.

The minister hoped that the participation and cooperation of the foreign ministers of Iraq's neighboring countries at the meeting will help to take an effective measure towards establishment of security in that country.

Mottaki referred to the new US policy in Iraq and said, "Violence does not bring security to Iraq."

According to the Information and Press Bureau of the Foreign Ministry, the two sides reviewed the latest development in the region and described the need to further expand relations to help restore security in Iraq.

Referring to historical ties between Iran and Iraq, Mottaki said the Islamic Republic of Iran, as Iraq's neighbor, has always supported moves towards democracy in Iraq. Iran has always supported a democratic government in Iraq and never created any problems for the country, Mottaki said.

For his part, Al-Hakim referred to Iran's approach to Iraq as positive and hoped that other neighboring states will have a similar stance.

Head of SCIRI said that Iraq's security is part of the regional security and underlined that improvement in Iraq's situation will be beneficial to all regional countries.

Meanwhile, in response to a question about the US, he said that in his talks with Al-Hakim they did not talk about it, stressing that the US should revise its wrong policies in the region.

Turning to what Iran considers the illegal measure of American troops and their attack on Iran's consulate in Erbil, he warned the US officials to release the kidnapped Iranian diplomats.

"I also brought up the issue in the meeting with Al-Hakim. The US should revise its approach to the Middle East," he added.

Mottaki urged that management of Iraq's security should be passed on to Nouri al-Maleki's government.

Meantime, Iran's Chairman of the Expediency Council Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani yesterday called for effective role by religious leaders to stem sectarian conflict in Iraq. In a meeting with Abd al-Aziz Hakim, Rafsanjani said that Iraqi people's trust in religious leaders is a great asset which should be used to stop sectarian conflict in Iraq.

Rafsanjani said that the Islamic Republic of Iran advocates a prosperous, democratic and free Iraq in its neighborhood and is keen to help Iraqi people carry out development and reconstruction projects in the country without any financial rewards.

He called for setting aside religious and ethnic disputes and said that the current sectarian violence serves the interests of enemies of Iraqi people.

Abdul Aziz al-Hakim said that he is carrying no message from non-Iraqi sides for Iran and is only here to convey the message from Iraqis for Iranian officials.

Previous Stories:
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