Abbas Araghchi, the foreign minister of Iran, departed Baghdad for Muscat, the capital of Oman, on Sunday night after visiting and conversing with Iraqi officials.
Araghchi arrived in Baghdad on Sunday afternoon on an official visit for diplomatic consultations regarding the bilateral issues of Iran and Iraq and the current developments in the region and met and talked with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Prime Minister and the President of Iraq.
After meeting and talking with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein in Baghdad, Araghchi stated in a joint news conference, “Our region is now facing very dangerous challenges and is in a critical state.”
“Therefore, it was necessary for us to have close consultations with our friends in the region, especially in Iraq,” he added.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran does not want to increase tension and conflict, although it is ready for any incident. We are prepared for both war and peace,” Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi said in a joint press conference with his Iraq counterpart Fuad Hussein n Baghdad on Sunday.
“The region is in a state of alarm, and the likelihood of an outbreak of clashes is very high, which is rooted in the Zionist regime’s crimes,” he noted, warning of the spread of the crisis to the other countries of the region.
It is necessary to deal with the Israeli regime’s acts of aggression in order to stop the war imposed on the people of Gaza and Lebanon, Araqchi stated.
“We had good consultations with the Iraqi side, and I thank the Iraqi authorities for their positions,” Araghchi said.
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The Zionist regime has minimized the possibility of providing aid to Lebanese refugees and does not allow it, he noted, adding, “We continue to send our aid to the Lebanese refugees. We also thank the Iraqi government for hosting a number of displaced and wounded Lebanese.”
“I was happy to hear the firm positions of the Iraqi Foreign Minister, who said that they will not allow the country’s space to be misused against Iran and any other country,” he said, adding, “This is the friendly and fraternal position that we expected from the Iraqi government.”
Upon his arrival in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on Sunday, Abbas Araghchi said that “We have made a lot of efforts to prevent an all-out war in the region, but we have no red line in defense of our interests.”
“As we have stated so many times, we are fully prepared for any situation and scenario. Nobody wants war in the region except the Zionist regime,” added the top Iranian diplomat.
The foreign minister of Iran paid tribute to the iconic anti-terrorism Resistance commander General Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi Muhandis, who were martyred in a US drone attack at Baghdad airport in early 2020.
Prior to the visit to Iraq, Araghchi has been to Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
He also went to Turkmenistan along with President Masoud Pezeshkian on a state visit.
The top Iranian diplomat is also slated to go to Oman following Iraq as part of his intensive diplomatic talks.
