Ghalibaf: Iraqi resistance is a force beyond Iraq and Iran
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Wednesday that Iraqi "resistance" —the Iran-aligned armed factions— had become a key source of national strength, and its influence reaches beyond Iraq's borders.
Speaking alongside Iraqi First Deputy Parliament Speaker Adnan Faihan at the site near Baghdad International Airport where a US drone strike in January 2020 killed Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy chief of the Popular Mobilization Forces, Ghalibaf said the resistance now carried weight beyond Iraq and Iran, giving it regional and global reach.
Ghalibaf said his visit came as "a new regional order takes shape," stressing the need for stronger cooperation among the region's states without foreign interference.
“Islamic countries should expand cooperation across all sectors and deepen their ties, particularly in the economic sphere, and Tehran is ready to strengthen economic cooperation,” he added. "The bonds linking the Iraqi and Iranian peoples are historical and deeply rooted between two neighbors joined by unbreakable ties."
An informed source told Shafaq News that the high-level Iranian delegation led by Ghalibaf would cover political, security, and economic issues. A key issue, the source said, is securing passage for Iraqi oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which more than 90% of Iraqi oil is exported.
The delegation will also address efforts to bring the weapons of Iraqi armed factions under exclusive state control, the source said, and will convey the Iranian government's position on the steps Baghdad has taken toward that goal.
Read more: Days to disarm Iraq's factions: deadline or negotiable ceiling?
