Speaking after the meeting on Wednesday, the Iranian defense minister said he and the Pakistani official, Rana Tanveer Hussain, had “good and constructive” talks on regional issues, the fight against terrorism and the need for trans-regional countries to stop meddling in the affairs of the region.

Both sides emphasized that the best way to get rid of these interferences is boosting cooperation based on mutual respect among the countries of the region, he added.

He further referred to the high potentials of Iran and Pakistan in defense industries and said the two sides agreed to consider reciprocal visits by expert and technical delegations from Iran and Pakistan to develop effective and sustainable collaborations in the field.

“The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has always stressed the expansion of ties with Islamic and neighboring countries, especially the friend and brother country Pakistan, in all bilateral and regional areas,” Brigadier General Hatami went on to say.

Addressing a ceremony held in Chabahar in southern Iran on Sunday to inaugurate the first phase of Shahid Beheshti Port Development Plan, Rouhani said, “The port is being inaugurated at a time when conditions in our region have improved.”

“Some thought that our region is a region of war, conflict, and Shiite-Sunni confrontation… and the land of foreign intervention,” the president said, adding that today, however, the region has distanced itself from those issues.

“The people of the region have shown that there is no distance among various communities and religions,” he said, adding that Shiite and Sunni scholars and elites in Iran and elsewhere in the region have taken great strides in this regard.

What matters is that everyone should make efforts to boost solidarity and unity in this region, Rouhani stressed.

He also underlined that regional problems can be settled through dialogue among regional states and that there is no need for world powers’ meddling.

Elsewhere, the Iranian president said that the result of extremism and violence, no matter what name they take or where they happen, is only destruction and devastation.

In recent years, the Middle East has been plagued with Takfiri terrorist groups like Daesh (also known as ISIS or ISIL), which are believed to have been created and supported by the West and some regional Arab countries.

The terrorist groups, which claim to be Islamic but whose actions are anything but, have been committing heinous crimes not only against non-Muslims, but mostly against Muslims in the region.

The self-proclaimed caliphate of Daesh has recently collapsed in Syria and Iraq after the Arab countries’ forces and their allies managed to recapture Al-Bukamal, the terror group’s last stronghold in Syria.

Speaking at a cultural ceremony in Tehran on Wednesday, General Salami referred to the recent defeat of the Daesh (ISIL or ISIS) terrorist group and collapse of its self-proclaimed caliphate in Iraq and Syria, and Iran’s role in the major achievement, saying the US and Zionist regime and their regional allies created Daesh to divide Muslims and confine the extent of the Islamic Revolution’s influence.

“However, what happened was the expansion of the Islamic Revolution’s influence.”

The senior commander added that, with the grace of God, the threats posed against Iran by the enemies have been turned into opportunities by the country.

Stressing that resolving regional and global equations without Iran’s presence is not possible today, he added that the enemy is getting weaker and the country becoming more powerful day after day.

On November 19, the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group was flushed out of its last stronghold in Syria’s Al-Bukamal. The city’s liberation marked an end to the group’s self-proclaimed caliphate it had declared in 2014.

In a message to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei on Tuesday, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Quds Force Major General Soleimani declared that the notorious group’s rule has come to an end with the accomplishment of a mission to liberate Syria’s eastern city of Al-Bukamal, near the Iraqi border.

Speaking on behalf of all commanders and forces fighting against terrorism, thousands of Iranian, Iraqi, Syrian, Lebanese, Afghan, and Pakistani martyrs and those handicapped in defending the life and dignity of Muslims and their sanctities, the top general congratulated Ayatollah Khamenei, the Iranian nation, the people of Iraq and Syria, and all Muslims on the fall of Daesh.

Daesh militants made swift advances in northern and western Iraq over the summer of 2014, after capturing large areas of Syria.

But the timely support by Iran helped Syria and Iraq fight off Daesh. In addition, formation of military units by volunteers in Iraq, known as Hashd al-Shaabi or Popular Mobilization Units, blunted the edge of Daesh offensive and later made the terror group withdraw from the territories it had occupied.

Speaking in a meeting with Chairman of the Pakistan Senate Defense Committee Mushahid Hussain, Larijani referred to attempts by Washington and Tel-Aviv to create crises in the region and urged talks with regional countries to prevent them from making decisions whose outcome would be in the interests of Israel and the US.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA), which kicked off on Monday in Istanbul, Turkey.

The Iranian speaker called on Iran, Pakistan and Turkey cooperation to work for resolving regional problems.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Larijani lauded the close parliamentary relations between Iran and Pakistan.

The Pakistani lawmaker, for his part, referred to good parliamentary ties between Tehran and Islamabad and called for the enhancement of ties between Iran, Pakistan and Turkey.

Speaking at a meeting of a working group on the development of non-oil exports of the southeastern province of Sistan and Balouchestan, Khosrotaj underlined that the province can play a key role in boosting relations with countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Oman.

Regarding preferential tariffs and free trade, the TPO has done the planning, he said, adding that the organization is ready to establish free trade with countries that have common borders with Sistan and Balouchestan.

Iran has stepped up efforts in recent years to enhance its non-oil exports and reduce dependency on its oil revenues.

In 2014, the country’s exports of commodities and natural-gas condensate reached $50 billion, showing a 19 percent increase.

There was also a boom in Iran’s service exports in diverse sectors, including tourism, engineering, and transit.