Addressing the Iraqi elite, nomads and religious leaders on Tuesday, President Hassan Rouhani said “no power can separate this united community.”
“We consider this land as the land of jihad, martyrdom, self-sacrifice and devotion,” he said, expressing happiness over visiting Karbala and making pilgrimage.
He continued “the people of Iraq, especially Karbala, warmly welcome Iranian pilgrims during Arba’een and I would like to thank them on behalf of the Iranian nation.”
The President added “we are very happy that there is more unity, brotherhood and solidarity between the Iranian and Iraqi nations.”
“The first people that came to help Iraq in their fight against ISIS and Al-Qaeda, were the people of Iran,” he said, adding “after the occupation of Mosul by ISIS terrorists, we announced in a public speech that we would not tolerate threats against holy cities of Iraq, including Karbala.”
He went on to congratulate the Iraqi nation, nomads and Marjas for foiling the plots of the enemies against the region and Iraq, adding “in this stage, the two governments agreed to issue visas free of charge.”
“The two governments also decided to deepen economic relations and create border markets for investment by Iranian and Iraqi tradespeople,” he said.
Rouhani also said “we are trying to make academic relations between the two countries closer and, in doing so, we are ready to provide several laboratories for Iraqi universities.”
He said “unity and integrity in Iraq is to the benefit of Iraq and the entire region and the two countries agree on security and stability issues.”
The Iranian president, who arrived in Iraq on Monday for a three-day state visit, made pilgrimage to the holy shrines of Imam Hussein (PBUH) and Abbas ibn Ali (PBUH) and said his prayers there on Tuesday evening. He also arrived in Karbala city on Tuesday afternoon as part of his programs for the visit to Iraq. Upon arrival, Rouhani was welcomed by the Governor General of Karbala and Iran’s Consul General in Karbala.
- source : Mehrnews
