Baghdad Reassured of Support in Anti-Terror Campaign

Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Jaberi Ansari reassured Baghdad of Tehran's continued support for Iraq in the campaign against terrorist groups.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran will continue its all-out support for the Iraqi government and nation in confronting terrorism," Ansari said in a meeting with Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Nazar Khairallah in Baghdad on Sunday, Fars News Agency reported.

Noting that extremism and terrorism are seriously threatening the region and the world, he underscored the need for Iran and Iraq to cooperate in addressing the current crises and problems in the region and holding bilateral and multilateral meetings to this end.

Khairallah referred to the common threats and interests and the strategic ties between the two countries, and thanked Iran for its support.

The two officials also conferred on latest developments in the region.

The meeting was held a few days after Arab media reported that Commander of the Qods Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Major General Qasem Soleimani had arrived in the operations room of the Popular Mobilization Forces near Mosul to play his advisory role in the anti-IS campaign in Iraq.

"Hashd al-Shaabi [the Arabic name of PMF] will soon start its operations in western Mosul to cut the supply routes of Daesh [an Arabic acronym for the self-styled Islamic State terrorist group] to Syria and defuse the US plots to postpone the popular forces' participation in the Mosul operations, and General Soleimani has also joined them as a military advisor," the Arabic-language al-Akhbar said on Wednesday quoting Iraqi sources.

Washington is pressuring Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi not to allow PMF forces to participate in the Mosul liberation operations.

Spokesman for the Iraqi popular forces, Ahmad al-Assadi, had confirmed in August that Soleimani would play a major role in operations to liberate Mosul, stressing that his country was in dire need of Iranian military advisors.