Top Iranian Cleric Urges National Unity in Iraq
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A senior Iranian cleric advised Iraqi political groups to bridge differences under the auspices of the Arab country’s religious authority.
In a message published on Thursday, Grand Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi said he is “deeply concerned about the rifts emerging among political factions at a time when the ruthless and irrational enemy has occupied parts of the country and some ill-wishers call for the disintegration of Iraq.”
He stressed that Iraq’s current situation further necessitates national unity and solidarity.
The Iranian cleric also said the conflicting parties in Iraq had better refer to Grand Ayatollah Seyed Ali al-Sistani's views to resolve differences and put an end to the Arab country’s problems “before it is too late.”
Tehran has repeatedly voiced support for unity and territorial integrity in neighboring Iraq, noting that disintegration will not benefit the Iraqi nation at all.
“We have already announced that we want continued unity and territorial integrity and solidarity in Iraq, and this is our official policy,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham said on July 9.
She underlined that Tehran will support any initiative that entails unity in the Arab country, and added, “Disintegration of Iraq is not in the interests of the Iraqi nation.”
