Trans-regional countries' involvement in the Middle East is meant to ensure the security of the Israeli government as well as the flow of energy, according to Iran's defense minister.

Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Gharaei Ashtiani stressed in a meeting with his Iraqi counterpart Thabet Muhammad Saeed Al-Abbasi in Tehran on Saturday that trans-regional states never seek to promote democracy, but rather to sow discord among Muslim nations.

“Experience has proven that the presence of trans-regional countries in any part of the world has been accompanied by insecurity and division. This presence in our region is meant to ensure the flow of energy and strengthen the Zionist regime’s security belt through creating artificial crises, differences, and conflicts between Muslim countries,” Ashtiani added. He stressed that such presence is never for helping human rights, promoting democracy, and aiding regional people.

The Iranian minister also stated that Iran and Iraq have a strategic relationship that includes ethnic, religious, cultural, economic, and energy components. He further called for vigilance in the face of plots hatched to damage unity and solitary between the Iranian and Iraqi nations.

He stressed that the Islamic Republic believes in supporting Iraq's unity and integrity, as well as assisting the country in consolidating its stability and security, development, and prosperity.

Ashtiani emphasized that the existence of terrorist organizations in Iraq, including in the provinces bordering the Islamic Republic, continues to pose a threat to the national security of the two nations, underscoring the growing demand for military, intelligence, and security coordination between Baghdad and Tehran. He also stated that Iran was willing to help Iraq develop its defense sector to the point of independence.

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At Baghdad's request, Iranian military advisors came to the aid of the Iraqi armed forces when ISIS began its terror campaign there in 2014. They assisted them in reversing ISIS' advances and eventually liberating their entire country from the US-sponsored terror group three years later.

Destroying ISIS in the area was made possible in large part by General Qassem Soleimani. However, the US assassinated the senior general upon his arrival at Baghdad International Airport on January 3, 2020, for a formal visit.

Read next: General Soleimani, the revolutionary, the martyr, the legend

For his part, the Iraqi Defense Minister stated that Iran's assistance as a friendly and neighboring nation in this regard is greatly appreciated by the Iraqi armed forces and nation in their ongoing battle against terrorism.

He added that taking this route will help to resolve regional problems and crises because a strong Iran will result in a strong Iraq and vice versa; Abbasi further urged the use of Iran's capabilities for technical, technological, and educational cooperation.