Iran seeks to boost defence ties with Iraq

Deputy Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces, Brig-Gen Aziz Nasirzadeh has said that his country wants to strengthen its defence cooperation with Iraq.

Brigadier General Nasirzadeh made the comments on the sidelines of his meeting with the visiting President of Iraqi Defense University for Higher Military Studies Staff Lt-Gen, Saad Mizher Mohsen Al-Alaq, on August 14, according to Iran's Mehr news agency. 

Nasirzadeh said that Iran and Iraq enjoy many good capacities and commonalities, adding that mutual cooperation has commenced in the defence field.

He said that "in addition to the geopolitical position, the two countries also have a lot of energy reserves, which has led some politicians in the world and arrogant countries to think of [exploiting the resources of] the countries".

The Iranian general said that securing the security and interests of the two countries requires both sides to cooperate, and added that increasing interactions will also enhance economic cooperation.

For his part, the Iraqi general noted that “we need to strengthen joint cooperation between all regional countries to fight terrorism.”

An information exchange centre has been set up among Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Russia to boost their cooperation on the international stage, Mohsen Al-Alaq added.