During Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s visit to Iraq, Ali Akbar Velayati, advisor to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution for International Affairs, discussed the significance of the visit in an interview with Al Mayadeen Net.
Velayati told Al Mayadeen Net: "The first visit of our country's president being to Iraq holds special significance, as Iraq is a country of high status for us. The Iranian and Iraqi peoples have a deep historical relationship dating back to the beginning of Islam and even before. There were no issues between them except during the Baathist regime, which was imposed by the United States and its reactionary agents in the region."
To better explain, the advisor cited the ease of travel and the close ties between the citizens of both countries, such as the Arbaeen pilgrimage and visits of Iraqi citizens to Iran. Moreover, religious seminaries in both countries play a crucial role in religious cohesion.
Velayati remembered historical positions that brought together the two people such as during the British occupation of Iraq. At the time, the late Mohammad Taqi Shirazi, known as Mirza II, issued a fatwa in the defense of Iraq against the British. Iranians and Iraqis fought side by side against them.
Similarly, when the Soviet Union occupied northern Iran in 1950, the late Akhund Khorasani in Iraq issued a fatwa against the occupiers, and the tribes of the Tigris and Euphrates region took up arms to defend Iran.
Velayati added that both Iran and Iraq experienced revolutions in modern times: one led by Imam Khomeini and the other by Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr and Ayatollah Hakim.
Today, both countries are key pillars in the Axis of Resistance, fighting against "Israel" and imperialist forces. Both stand against the United States, with Iranians having expelled the US from their land and Iraqis in the process of doing the same.
Velayati emphasized that President Pezeshkian’s visit to Iraq, as his first foreign trip, is particularly significant for both countries in strengthening strategic relations and will have a substantial impact on the future of Iranian-Iraqi relations and regional peace and stability.
Since the onset of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Western countries have made extensive efforts to strain relations between the two nations, Velayati underscored, "but they have failed." Today, the Iranian and Iraqi peoples are more united than ever.
The cooperation between Iran and Iraq across all fields has become a positive example for the Islamic world. Both countries are revolutionary and independent and have progressive and noble stances against Zionism and the United States. Despite the challenges posed by their enemies, they continue with strength and determination.
Both Iran and Iraq have a deep and rooted cultural and historical heritage, and their positions remain steadfast against threats and ambitions.
Velayati also asserted that those who engage in ceremonial and showy meetings instead of working together to address Zionism and its protectors, and who do not practically support the oppressed Palestinian people but rather secretly assist the enemies in their crimes, should cease their actions.
"Instead of colluding with the forces of international oppression, Zionism and the United States, they should think practically about aiding the oppressed Palestinians who are slaughtered every day," Veyalati emphasized, adding, "We condemn those who sit in luxurious hotels, ignore the increasing crimes committed by Zionists against Palestinians, and blame or gloat over the Resistance front, which sacrifices itself defending Islamic values and ideals, having given thousands of martyrs in this cause."
Velayati emphasized that "those who make false, unrealistic, and far-fetched claims about Iranian territory, like the three Iranian islands in the Gulf," should realize that such claims merely benefit the Zionists and their allies. He asserted, "As long as Iran remains, it is impossible for aggressors and their protectors in the region to encroach on even an inch of Iranian territory."
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