Iran Felicitates Iraq on Eye-Catching Victories in Tikrit

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian congratulated the Iraqi people, armed forces and government on their great victories against the terrorists in Tikrit, Salahuddin province, and stressed Tehran’s continued support for Baghdad.
“The fall of Tikrit gates from the pawns of terrorists is a prelude to the freedom of Mosul and the Sunni-dominated regions of Iraq from the hands of the Takfiri terrorists,” Amir Abdollahian told FNA on Monday.

“No doubt, cleaning up Iraq from the terrorists is a necessity and the most vital contributor to ensuring regional security,” he added.

Amir Abdollahian stressed that Iran will continue to powerfully stand beside the countries threatened by the terrorists.

Iraqi army forces, backed by popular forces, seized control of 110 villages from the ISIL terrorists in the Northern province of Salahuddin.

“The army and popular forces have managed to free hundreds of villages, towns and neighborhoods in Salahuddin province from the hands of the ISIL,” Abbas al-Bayati, the representative of State of Law Coalition at the Iraqi parliament, said on Sunday.

He further described winning back control over Beiji in Tikrit and its oil refinery as the main objective of the army and popular forces.

Bayati also underlined that the Iraqi army and volunteer forces’ victories against the terrorists had caused a change in the position of those who opposed supplying arms aid to the Baghdad government to keep it weak in its confrontation against the terrorists.

In relevant remarks on Saturday, Hadi al-Ameri, the secretary-general of the powerful Badr Organization, underlined that the US had played no role in Iraq’s battle against ISIL in Tikrit, Salahuddin province.

“The international coalition (led by the US) didn’t have any partnership in the operations to free Salahuddin at all and it was merely the army and the popular (volunteer) forces which are in the battlefield in the province,” Ameri told FNA.

He also referred to the United States’ suspicious pressures on Baghdad to launch the operations for the liberation of Mosul and his country’s reservations in this regard, and stressed, “It is only Baghdad that is vested with the authority to decide the date and method for liberating Mosul.”

Ameri vowed that the Iraqi forces chased the ISIL members even outside the country’s borders to annihilate them completely.

He referred to the Iraqi army and popular forces’ battlefield victories, and said, “We have made advances from Diyala and Abu Talheh towards Hamrin and other forces have also advanced to Jasr al-Zarkeh.”

Noting that weak resistance is seen by the ISIL terrorists, Ameri said it is the first time that brave tribal people from the freed areas are cooperating with the Iraqi army and popular forces against the ISIL.

The Iraqi army, backed by volunteer forces, is tightening its grip on the ISIL terrorists in its fight to liberate the city of Tikrit in Salahuddin province.

The Iraqi army has so far retaken several neighborhoods and is moving forward to completely cleanse the city from the terrorists.