Jalili: Lasting security needs cooperation

The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) says lasting security in the Middle East is contingent upon closer regional cooperation.

Saeed Jalili told Barham Ahmad Salih, the prime minister of Iraq’s Kurdistan region, in Tehran on Sunday that the formation of Iraq’s new government with the participation of all Iraqi groups serves as a major step towards national development and stability.

Jalili said security and stability are the prerequisites to economic development.

“Lasting security in regional countries is contingent upon effective and continued regional cooperation,” the top Iranian official underlined.

“The all-out enhancement of relations between the two countries can form the kernel of multilateral regional cooperation,” Jalili said, highlighting the “common potentialities” shared by Iran and Iraq.

The top Iranian official further said Tehran and Baghdad have broad and cordial ties, and added closer mutual cooperation can serve the interests of all regional nations as well.

The visiting Iraqi official, for his part, underlined Iran’s pivotal status in the region, and said Tehran plays a key role in settling regional problems.

He reiterated that the two neighbors enjoy a “good level of cooperation,” urging both sides to fully tap into their potentials with proper planning.