The ministry says the policy of the United States, Israel and some other countries, patronizes terrorism

TEHERAN, June 9 /TASS/. Iran considers struggle against terrorism to be its duty and its mission, Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan said at a meeting with the Russian and Syrian defense ministers, Sergei Shoigu and Fahd Jassem al-Freij, on Thursday.

"The aggressive policy based on hegemony, which is being pursued by the United States, Israel and some other countries, which patronize terrorism, stands behind the current regional crisis.

Iran has always been and remains a reliable anchor of regional security that has always been opposed to violence, aggression, terror and terrorism. For the purpose of restoring peace and security in the region, the Islamic Republic of Iran is waging an irreconcilable struggle against terrorism and considers it to be its duty and its mission," Dehghan said in a speech, the text of which has been distributed by Iran�s Defense Ministry.

As for Syria, he emphasized that Iran had always favored a peaceful settlement of the Syrian crisis through inter-Syrian talks.

The defense ministers of Iran, Russia and Syria have met in Teheran on Thursday on the Iranian side�s initiative to discuss the situation in the region and ways of stepping up and expanding struggle against terrorism.

By TASS