Larijani urges Iraqi groups to foster unity

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani has called on the various Iraqi groups to strengthen their unity.

“It is a historic necessity for the various Iraqi groups to enhance their cohesion and cooperation,” Larijani said in a meeting with Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Barham Salih in Tehran on Saturday.

Cooperation between Iraqi groups can play an important role in efforts to establish democracy in the country and independence, he added.

Larijani emphasized the importance of settling certain border issues and controlling the border between Iran and Iraq.

The Iranian parliament speaker pointed to Iran’s great scientific and industrial capabilities and said Iran’s private sector is ready to help Iraqi Kurdistan make progress.

Salih said that Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region would not allow any country to use the region as a base to carry out actions against Iran.

The security and stability of Iran and Iraq are intertwined, he added.

This is Salih’s first trip to the Islamic Republic of Iran since assuming the post of KRG prime minister. His last visit to Tehran took place in August 2008, when he was Iraq’s deputy prime minister.