Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei cautioned about the consequences of partitioning Iraq, what some US officials have proposed as an option to end the conflict in the Arab country.
"Why should Iraq, which is a great, wealthy country with a thousand-year-old history, be disintegrated to become subject to constant strife?" Ayatollah Khamenei said on Tuesday in a meeting with Iraqi President Fuad Masum on the sidelines of the summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Tehran.
The situation should be controlled, "so the Americans would not even dare anymore to openly talk about splitting Iraq," he said, according to his official website. The Leader highlighted "brotherly and close" relations between Iran and Iraq, despite their 1980-88 war imposed by former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
"Officials of both countries should try to make most of this situation for mutual benefit," he said.
Voluntary forces engaged in the fight against the so-called Islamic State terrorist group in Iraq represent "vigilant and capable youths" of the war-ravaged country."
The Leader said Iraqi youths are now alert and aware of their true power and capabilities, adding that such youths will not submit to US hegemony.
Masum thanked Tehran for its support at a critical time when Iraq was attacked by IS militants, saying his country is keen to expand bilateral cooperation beyond the current level.
Leader Receives Algeria PM
The Leader then received Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal.
Underlining the common policies of the Islamic Republic and Algeria, Ayatollah Khamenei said the Iranian nation has always held the Algerian people in high regard, mainly due to the fight they put up against colonial powers during the Algerian revolution.
Ayatollah Khamenei hoped that the visit by the Algerian delegation and a trip by First Vice President Es'haq Jahangiri to the North African country in the near future would help give a considerable boost to ties.
On the campaign against terrorism, the Leader said, "The issue of Daesh [an Arabic acronym for IS] and other terrorists operating across the region in the name of Islam is not normal. These terrorist groups have been [deliberately] created and supported."
Ayatollah Khamenei also held separate talks with Bolivian President Evo Morales.
