The deputy commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said Iran provides the Iraqis with support to help them thwart the plans hatched by the enemies of Muslim countries.
In a meeting with visiting Iraqi Defense Minister Khalid al-Obeidi on Thursday, Lieutenant General Hossein Salami said, "The deep affection toward the Iraqi nation and the intention to foil the plans of ill-wishers of Muslim countries are the main incentives for Iran to back Iraq," ISNA reported.
The general said, "Iran spares no effort to provide the central government in Iraq with (military) training and advice to help it preserve integrity, national security, and stability in the country."
Salami described the recent victories of the Iraqi nation, government and army against the takfiri terrorist groups operating in some regions of the Arab country as "promising" and said, "These successes indicate that the developments on the ground have taken a turn to the benefit of the Iraqi nation."
A takfiri is a Muslim who accuses another Muslim of heresy.
"We desire an integrated, unified, strong and independent Iraq," he said, adding, "There is huge potential for development in Iraq. (The country) has always been important to regional and international powers due to its geopolitical position in the Muslim world."
Seeking Disintegrated Muslim States
He underlined, "From a geopolitical point of view, the Zionists want to see Islamic countries as small and disintegrated entities which suffer from lack of stability and security."
The IRGC official said, "There is a security principle which links the security of the Zionist regime directly to insecurity in Muslim countries, and according to another principle, the Zionist regime gets more power when the power of Islamic countries wanes."
"By putting these two principles together, one will come up with the fact that most of US strategies in the region are in fact in line with the Zionists' demands," he continued.
He said taking these factors into account, "the developments in Iraq and Syria can be explained", adding, "Iran opposes such a policy and we believe that the critical situation in Iraq should be promptly checked."
He reiterated, "Today, the major powers have picked Iraq and Syria as regions for testing their plans, the regions which are used as the first place to sow the seeds of discord among Muslims."
He referred to the self-declared Islamic State (IS) terrorist group as the "joint product" of the strategies of the US and some regional countries and said, "We are trying to break up such strategic links, (an effort) which can currently be observed on the ground. Our best commanders are being martyred in Iraq while providing advice to the Iraqis and then are warmly welcomed by the nation at home."
Obeidi, for his part, thanked Salami for precisely depicting the situation in Iraq and said, "The two countries of Iran and Iraq are well aware of the joint plots of the enemies, from which the Zionists take the best advantage."
He reiterated, "IS terrorists pose a great threat to the Muslim world, and we are fighting takfiri terrorists on behalf of all Muslims."
