Iranian FM Asks Regional Unity to Confront Extremist Groups

(FNA)- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called on all the regional states to adopt a unified stance in fighting extremist groups which have endangered security of the region.

The acts of violence perpetrated by extremist militants pose security threats not only to Iraq and Syria but to all countries in the region, including Iran, Zarif said in an interview with the CNN published on Thursday.

Zarif, however, said Iran was less vulnerable to the threats of Takfiri terrorism than its neighbors, adding that "we are probably best protected from such waves of extremism” compared to other regional states.

“Our domestic security is inseparable from the security of the region,” he stated, stressing, “We don’t like instability in our neighborhood.”

The Iranian foreign minister further called for a “unified stance” among all regional states to counter the violence fueled by the extremist terrorists operating in the countries such as Iraq and Syria.

Zarif further reaffirmed Iran’s support for neighboring Iraq’s “territorial integrity”, and said the fragmentation of the Arab state “would be a disaster for the entire region”.

In relevant remarks in June, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian extended Tehran's full support for Iraq's territorial integrity, and warned against any plan to divide the crisis-hit country into three autonomous states.

Amir Abdollahian said Iran respects Iraq's independence, national sovereignty and solidarity as well as territorial integrity within the framework of the country's Constitution.

He went on to say that wise Iraqi Kurdish leaders do not consider autonomy and adhere to the country's Constitution.

The Iranian official underlined that remnants of Saddam and Takfiri terrorists are unable to put the Iraqi and regional security at risk.