Iran, Syria urge firm fight against ISIL terrorists

Iran’s Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli says ISIL Takfiri terrorists are seeking to distort the image of Islam, urging serious fight against terrorism and extremism.

“They (the ISIL terrorists) are tarnishing both the holy name of Islam and the objectives of Islam through extremist approaches, violence and by resorting to intimidation and terror in the Muslim world,” Rahmani Fazli said at a joint press conference with his Syrian counterpart Major General Muhammad Ibrahim al-Sha'ar in Tehran on Monday.

He added that the ISIL terrorists are preparing the ground for foreigners to promote Islamophobia and are posing a danger to “unity, solidarity and stability in the Muslim world in cooperation with the West, the US and reactionary countries in the region.”

Rahmani Fazli emphasized that all Muslim countries in the region, particularly those which are on the front line of resistance, have a duty to seriously fight against terrorism and counter this dangerous phenomenon by maintaining their unity and coherence.

He added that a key issue for both Iran and Syria is the fight against terrorism, especially against the ISIL terrorist group.

The ISIL terrorist group, with members from several Western countries, controls parts of Syria, conducting heinous crimes against different ethnic and religious communities in the Arab country.

Syria has been struggling with a deadly crisis since March 2011. The violence fueled by Takfiri groups has so far claimed the lives of over 230,000 people, according to reports.

The United Nations says more than 3.8 million Syrians have left their country since the beginning of the conflict. Over 7.2 million Syrians have also become internally displaced.

Rahmani Fazli further said a tripartite meeting among Iran, Syria and Iraq would be held in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

“The three countries that are conducting measures in the field of resistance against Israel, fight against terrorism, violence and extremism will expand their cooperation and prepare the ground for common activities,” he pointed out.

He expressed hope that the Iran-Iraq-Syria meeting would be a prelude to stronger unity among Muslim countries in the region which share the same activities and views and would further lead to a multilateral meeting among ministers of all Muslim states.

The Iranian minister pointed to talks with his Syrian counterpart earlier Monday and noted that the two sides discussed ways to boost national security, share experience and fight against drugs and human trafficking as well as forge closer border cooperation.

He noted that deputy interior ministers of Iran and Syria would adopt measures to implement agreements which have been previously signed by the two countries and also the security accord that Rahmani Fazli and Sha'ar signed in Tehran on Monday.

The Syrian interior minister arrived in Tehran at the head of a delegation for a two-day visit on Sunday to hold talks with senior Iranian officials on the best ways of fighting terrorism.

Sha'ar is set to hold talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani, and police chief Brigadier General Hossein Ashtari.

SF/NN

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