Rouhani: Iran's ties with Iraq incomparable to any other countries

Tehran, March 11, IRNA – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani highlighted Iran's brotherly attitude toward regional countries including Iraq and said such kind of ties could not be compared to those they have with the occupying foreign forces like US. The President made the remarks Monday morning before departing Tehran for Baghdad. He said Iraq has many sources which can be used to supply many of Iran's needs, noting that he will be considering a number of important projects during his visit to the country. Rouhani said the issue of transit is of prime importance for Iran and voiced Tehran's interest in expanding connection routes between the two countries. Iran is interested in further developing interactions with Iraq, he added. He further stressed the construction of a railway link between Iran and Iraq will benefit both nations. He went on to say that building industrial towns, environmental issues like dust winds will be among the topics both sides can jointly work on. A delegation of Iranian businessmen are accompanying Rouhani in this trip so economic meetings with Iraqi groups and politicians will be on agenda, Rouhani noted. He also expressed hope that the current trip will benefit both countries in health, treatment, trade, investment, transit, tourism and regional security fields. Referring to the secret trip of the US President Donald Trump to American military bases in Iraq, Rouhani said Iran-Iraq relations is not comparable with the one Iraq is leading with such occupiers as US. He said people will not forget the US bombardments on Iraq and Syrian people as well as other regional countries. Rouhani's visit to Iraq is taking place upon the official invitation of his counterpart President Barham Salih and also Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi. During his three-day stay in Iraq, President Rouhani is also to confer with the senior Iraqi cleric, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Sistani. Exploring avenues for promoting bilateral relations in the political, economic and cultural fields are among the main objectives of the Iranian president’s official visit to Iraq. Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif travelled to Iraq on Saturday to do the necessary arrangements for President Rouhani’s official visit to the neighboring state. Follow us on Twitter @IrnaEnglish