Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks in a meeting with the visiting Iraqi President Barham Salih and his accompanying delegation in Tehran on Saturday afternoon.
At the meeting, Ayatollah Khamenei expressed happiness with the recent successful parliamentary elections in Iraq and election of the President, Prime Minister and other officials which led to the establishment of stability in the country, and stressed “the way to overcome the problems and confront the conspiracies of the spiteful enemies is to safeguard national unity in Iraq and correctly identify enemies and friends, resistance in the face of the blatant enemy, reliance on the youth's capabilities as well as consolidating relations with religious scholars [marja's].
At the beginning of the meeting, Ayatollah Khamenei congratulated Mr. Barham Salih for being elected as the president of the important country of Iraq and praised the deeply rooted and historical relations between the Iraqi and Iranian nation, adding “the bond between the two nation is matchless and the great procession of Arbaeen is a good example in that regard.
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution pointed to the participation of over 2 million Iranian pilgrims in the Arbaeen rallies this year and said “upon their return, the hearts of all Iranian pilgrims were filled with gratitude for the Iraqi nation's hospitality and this indicates the utmost generosity of Iraqis in welcoming Iranian pilgrims. This hospitality and bond which was combined with love and kindness between the two nations cannot be expressed except through the language of arts.”
Ayatollah Khamenei sincerely thanked the Iraqi President, Prime Minister as well as other representatives and the Iraqi nation for their peerless hospitality and asserted “now that after eras of the rule of arrogance, the Iraqi nation owns the country and enjoys independence, the right to vote and self-determination, some spiteful governments seek to deprive the Iraqi people of enjoying this great victory and achievement and deny Iraq and this region peace.
He went on to say “the only solution in confronting such conspiracies is safeguarding and strengthening the unity among Iraqi groups including Arabs, Kurds, Shias and Sunnis.
The leader of the Islamic Revolution evaluated correct identification of enemies and friends to be extremely important and stated “some states within or outside our region are very hostile against Islam, Shias, Sunnis and Iraq, and they interfere in the internal affairs of Iraq. These enemies should be resisted powerfully, and with regard to resisting against the blatant and impudent enemy, no compromise should be made.
Regarding mutual cooperation between Iran and Iraq, Ayatollah Khamenei reiterated “the officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran are determined and looking forward to expanding relations with Iraq. I also strongly believe in it.
He added, referring to the numerous capacities of the two countries for expanding cooperation, a dignified, powerful, independent and advanced Iraq is very beneficial for Iran, and we support our Iraqi brothers.
He regarded maintaining and strengthening relations with religious scholars [marja’iyah] as very important and stated “marinating relations with the clergy, in different stages and levels, will be guiding.
The leader of the Islamic Revolution regarded reliance on the youth as a factor that can bring about major changes and went on to say: A clear example of amazing outcomes of relying on the youth was the formation of Hashd Al-Shabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) amidst the fight against Takfiri terrorism-- and this must be endorsed.
During this meeting, in which Mr. Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian President as well as the Foreign Minister Javad Zarif were also in attendance, Mr. Barham Ahmed Salih, the Iraqi President, called the opportunity of meeting with the Leader of the Islamic Revolution a great pride, and held “I have come to Tehran with a clear message, that the factors and elements that bond the two nations of Iraq and Iran together is rooted in history and are, thus, unchangeable.
The Iraqi president referred to his negotiations in Tehran and asserted “we look forward to expanding cooperation in all areas and promoting it to a level which suits the two nations’ social and cultural relations and common interests.”
Barham Ahmed Salih regarded hosting and serving the pilgrims of Imam Hussain (a.s.) in Arbaeen as an honor for the Iraqi nation and government, and emphasized that Iraq would never forget Iran’s support and aids to the country during the fights against Saddam’s autocracy, and during the fights against Takfiri terrorism, adding “we deem wisdom, logic, and sagacity of marja’iyah is a great blessing for the stability, peace and progress of Iraq.”
He maintained that the priority of the Iraqi officials at the present time consisted of reconstructing infrastructures, confronting corruption, providing services to the Iraqi people, internal reforms, and strengthening national solidarity, stressing “we seek to make Iraq a powerful country in the region, and we hope we can increasingly benefit from the Islamic Republic of Iran’s cooperation and capacities for reconstructing Iraq.”
According to the official website of the Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mr. Barham Salih-- the President of Iraq-- and his entourage met with Ayatollah Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, this afternoon, November 17, 2018.
The Iraqi president arrived in Tehran on Saturday morning and has already met with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani as well as the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani.