SNSC secretary hails trend of democracy building in Iraq

Tehran, Dec 17, IRNA – Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani said the present methods by religious scholarsto create unity and confront terrorists will establish sustainable security in Iraq. In a meeting with the visiting Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament Sali Abdullah al-Jabouri here on Wednesday, he hailed the trend of establishing democracy in Iraq. He said the concentration terrorists on Iraqi soil is a plot by enemies to confront the will of the Iraqi nation. He noted that the plot also served the goal of providing security for the Zionist regime. He said the fact that injured members of the terrorist Dash receive treatment in Israeli hospitals clearly proves the link between terrorists and Israeli regime. Highlighting the inability of the so-called Coalition Forces to confront terrorism, the Iranian official said tackling the problem which poses threats to both regional and international security calls for goodwill far from political and tribal affiliations. Shamkhani also noted that maintaining full security in Iraq while over 20 million pilgrims from 60 countries were visiting the holy shrines there indicated the competence of Iraqi government in establishing security in the country. He went on to stress Iran's readiness for all-out cooperation with Iraq. The Iraqi Speaker, for his part, pointed to Iran's important role in the process of democracy building in his country. He said Iraq was keen to further expand ties with Iran to promote regional stability and accelerate economic growth. Al-Jabouri further stressed that such a big menace as Dash could be removed only through regional cooperation./end