Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has expressed optimism that Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's planned reforms foruprooting corruption would resultin a better future for the Arab country.
Iran hopes that the reform process in Iraq would yield favorable results through consultationand cooperation betweenall groups and legal bodies in Iraq, Zarif said during a meeting with visiting Iraqi Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri in Tehran on Saturday.
He highlightedthe peace process in Iraq as well as contributionof all Iraqi groups to building the future of the country, and describedIrans western neighbor "as one of the mostinfluential Muslim and Arab countries."
Zarif also expressed hope that Iraq would overcome its problems through wisdom of the Iraqi officials, and pledged the Islamic Republics support for Iraq, especially in the fight against violence and extremism.
The Iraqi official, for his part, praised Irans contributionto stability in the Middle Eastregion.
Jabouri praised Irans support forIraq throughout its crisis and urged the Islamic Republic to continue its support for his country.
'Organized plots'
The Iraqi parliament speaker also held a separate meeting with Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Irans Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), on Saturday, during which he praised Irans constant support for his country and called for further promotion of Tehran-Baghdad ties.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="555"] Secretary of Irans Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani (R) shakes hands with Iraqi Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri in Tehran on September 12, 2015. ISNA[/caption]
In the meeting, Shamkhani called for the vigilance of Iraqi political leaders in the face of plots aimed at creating "political and religious rifts" in the country.
Countering organized efforts by the enemies of Iraq,who seek, through [hiring]religious extremists and the remnantsof the [former ruling] Baathist regime, to create political and religious rifts [in the Arab country] requires boostingvigilance among the countrys political leaders, he said.
He also underlined the need for the reconstruction of areas liberated from terrorists in Iraq and voiced Irans readiness to help develop the Arab countrys infrastructure.
Touching on the refugee crisis in Europe, Shamkhani said that lack of serious action by the West and its so-called campaign to fight Daesh is to blame for the crisis which, he said, has familiarized the world with the sufferings of Iraqi and Syrian people.
Europe is facing an unprecedented refugee crisis, which has escalated over the summer as refugees are coming directly to the continent instead of staying in camps in neighboring countries.
The continent is now divided over how to deal with theflood of people, mainly Syrians fleeing the four-year foreign-backed militancyin their homeland. Iraqis also constitute a large portion of Europe-heading refugees who are fleeing the Daesh-fueledcrisis in their country.