RNA - “We consider defending Syria and Iraq and their sovereignty to be defending ourselves because preserving the stability of regional countries and preventing their disintegration is very crucial to regional stability [as a whole],” said Ali Akbar Velayati, who advises the Leader on international affairs, on Saturday.
He made the remarks in a meeting with the visiting State Secretary at the German Federal Foreign Office Markus Ederer in Tehran.
Velayati added that some regional countries, however, appeared to be disinterested in the resolution of the conflicts and rather sought to complicate and prolong problems.
“The Islamic Republic has invariably put up resistance in the region, and one has to say explicitly that it has trodden [solely] down the path of confronting terrorism with an eye to international peace and stability,” Velayati said.
The country, he said, maintains a presence in Syria and Iraq at their official invitations to fight terrorism.
Iran has been lending advisory military support to Damascus and Baghdad. Both Arab states have, time and again, lauded the contribution made by the Islamic Republic.
847/940