Halbousi's visit to Iran according to Iranian media

Prepared by Mohamed Mostafa Maash

Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament Mohammed al-Halbousi, heading a parliamentary delegation, visited  Tehran on April 27, where  the visit included a meeting with the speaker of the Iranian Shura Council,  Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the Secretary-General of the National Security Council Ali Shamkhani, in addition to Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

Meeting Ali Shamkhani

Following his meeting with Shamkhani,  Shamkhani stressed that political stability and lasting security in Iraq are in the interest of the region and  we will respond quickly and firmly to any action that harms our security, and also said that Iraq's national wealth and resources can be used for the comprehensive development of the country when they are extracted and exported only under the management and supervision of the government, and also referred to some unacceptable measures taken from inside Iraq against Iran's interests.   The Islamic Republic, by adopting an  approach to dealing with threats intelligently, and monitoring the movements of the Zionist regime and the United States and its affiliates in power, will respond quickly and decisively to any action aimed at harming the security of Iran and the region.

In this meeting, Halbousi noted his emphasis on the lasting friendship between the two countries and the further strengthening of relations between Tehran and Baghdad.

Referring to the anti-Israel approachof the Iraqi government and people, Halbousi pointed out that the Iraqi parliament is preparing a plan to criminalizecooperation and relations with Israel, in order to prevent any possible steps in this direction.

"Iraq looks forward to building the best relations with its neighbours and brothers, in which the preservation of sovereignty, good neighbourliness and the protection of citizens' rights are firm principles in its relations," al-Halbousi said.

He stressed the need todevelop comprehensive cooperation between the two countries, especially the continued export of Iranian gas to Iraq , saying: We hope that this problem will be solved soon.

Meeting with Muhammad Baqir Qalibaf

 Mr. Halbousi also pointed out in his press conference with Qalibaf, Speaker of the Iranian Shura Council, "In Iraq, we try to solve regional problems through proxy diplomacy, and we know that solving problems between neighbors is through dialogue and understanding, and many problems need dialogue and consultation, as countries better seek better relations and a better life.

According to the Iranian news agency ILNA, the speaker of the Iraqi parliament, Mohammed al-Halbousi, said at the press conference: "First of all, I thank you for  inviting us and  for  the warm welcome, and  I confirm that the relations between  the two neighboring countries, friends and brothers have been and will remain stable."

"I hope that through strengthening relations, we will be able to remove obstacles to development andcooperation between governments, and that the development of relations will be in the interest of the peoples of both countries," he said. Stability in Iran has a positive impact on Iraq and the region, just as stability in Iraq affects Iran and the region.

Halbousi stressed that respect for the sovereignty of states, good neighborliness and the protection of the rights of citizens must be principles for establishing  relations between countries and trying to improve and develop relations between the countries of the region.

   "In the international community, the countries of the region must have common positions because we also have common challenges and we must return to the zone of peace and stability because God has given us many material and spiritual blessings for our region, and our behavior must be commensurate with thesefoundations," he said.

Referring to the difficult economic conditions thatcountries have experienced in the past years, "We have seen economic problems due tothe outbreak of Corona and it was not a good year.

In conclusion, Mr. Halbousi said: "Obstacles to parliamentary economic and social relations must be removed and everything necessary must be done, from passing laws to taking parliamentary decisions to improve relations."

Ghalibaf pointed out that  the policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the eleventh parliament and the thirteenth government is to develop relations with priority countries,  from neighboring countries  in the region. In particular, we call for  deep economic, political and cultural ties, particularly cooperation in the field of the environment, which has been used as an opportunity for travel and negotiations between me and the Speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives.

The speaker of the Iranian Shura Council stressed that "the most important demand of the Iranian people is the subject  of the visit,  especially with regard to the opening of land roads in the  fortieth visit, which is what we ask from  the Iraqi parliament and the Iraqi government."   

He continued: "The hope and desire of the Iranian people and the officials of the Islamic Republic is that the Iraqi Council of Representatives will carry out its work as soon as possible with a political agreement between allpolitical groups andachieve  what the Iraqi people want, in the future the Iraqi government will decide its fate." The Iranian nation, government and parliament will have the necessary support from the Iraqi government and parliament.

The  Speaker of the Iranian Shura Council  said: "We hope that  both Iran and Iraqwill always be strong, and  we will all join hands because Iran and Iraq have an important role in regional, political, security, economic and stability issues."

Qalibaf stressed that the strong bilateral relations between Iran and Iraq are effective in the region and the world: wemust take steps at the parliamentary level of the two countries, the level of the Asian continent and the level of the parliaments of the world.

Qalibaf also stressed during the meeting that strengtheningrelations with neighboring countries and the regionis Iran's  priority in its foreign policy, noting that "his country hopes that the government and people of Iraq will be able, through a political agreement between its various components, to form a government as soon as possible."

He added: "We discussed today ways to strengthen relations with the Iraqi party economically, politically, culturally and environmentally," stressing that "Iran will provide the necessary support to the Iraqi government and parliament."

The speaker of Iran's Shura Council explained that the two countries "play an important role"  in regional political, security andeconomic issues, hoping that "the two countries will enjoy strength and that joint cooperation between them will continue."

He continued: "Bilateral relations between Iran and Iraq are influential regionally and globally, so parliamentary relations must be strengthened at the level of the two countries, Asia and the world."

Themeeting with my boss

According to the ILNA news agency, Mr. Ebrahim Raisi said in a meeting with the head of the Iraqi parliament, Mohammed Al-Halbousi, on Wednesday afternoon, referring to thousands of years of friendship and good-neighborliness between Iran and Iraq: Friendly prevails in the peoples of Iran and Iraq; we are friends during each other's difficult times.

Expressing satisfaction with the  positive level of interaction between the Iranian and Iraqi parliaments, Raisi said that the Iraqi parliament can be a place to expand parliamentary cooperationwith neighboring countries and the region, and the Islamic Republic of Iran will not prevent any assistance from you.

Congratulating the re-election of the Speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives to this post, Raisi said: "I hope that the members of the Iraqi Council of Representatives will help with understanding and sympathy in solving the various and comprehensive problems of the Iraqi people and  completing the formation of the Iraqi government as soon as possible by electing the President of the Republic and PrimeMinister and establishing broader relations with neighboring countries, especially Iran.

The president described the cohesion and unity of Iraq's various ethnic currents and groups as the key to the country's success, adding: "Creating divisions between or within religions and ethnicities will make the enemy infiltrate and manipulate the interests of countries."

"I hope that the Iraqi parliament will pass the necessary laws to prevent the formation of factors that threaten the security of neighbors and destabilize the region," Raisi said.

The Speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives, Mohammed Al-Halbousi, said in the meeting that we are here to emphasize the need to continue and strengthen thefriendly relations between the two peoples and countries, and it is in the interest of all Iraqis to strengthen their friendship with Iran.

"The two countries have gone through difficult years and we have to work together and work together tocreate a different future for our two countries, and try to make Iraq  and Iran friends in times of hardship and peace," the speaker of the Iraqi parliament said.

Meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister

The Speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives, Mohammed Al-Halbousi, met on Wednesday evening, Hussein Amir Abdullahian.

According to the Iranian Students News Agency, the foreign minister affirmed Iran's support for Iraq's stability and said: "Iran considers its security the security of Iraq and considers the security of Iraq its security."

Referring to the participation of the Iraqi people in the many elections in this country, Amir Abdollahian stressed that Iran supports the political process in this  country and considers the presence of a strong Iraq a guarantor  of peace and security in the region.

"Iranian opponents of the revolution and separatists should not find a safe base in Iraq to threaten Iran," the foreign minister added.

Amir Abdollahian considered the role of the parliaments of the two countries important in advancing relations.

The foreign minister described the Zionist regime as a threat to the security of the region and described the celebration of Quds Day as a step towards confronting the regime's conspiracies.

As Mohammed al-Halbousi stated at this meeting: Iraq has always benefited from and appreciates the support of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The speaker of the Iraqi parliament added: "The Iraqi constitution does not allow individuals or organizations to act to threaten their neighbors."

Halbousi thanked Iran for its support for Iraq in confronting ISIS and terrorism.

The Speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives also described defending Palestine and opposing the actions of the Zionist regime as a popular demand in Iraq.

In an interview with the international news agency ILNA, Danai Farr said:

The former Iranian ambassador to Iraq said: "Our desire and goal is to develop relations between the two countries and declare the assistance that Tehran can provide to get Iraqout of the political impasse." Of course, the final and fundamental decision-makersare the Iraqi parties and groups, and no actor, whether regional or transregional, can impose an issue inside Iraq.

In an interview with the Iranian news agency ILNA Hassan Danaefar analyzed the purpose of the visit of the speaker of the Iraqi parliament, Mohammed al-Halbousi, to Iran, and in response to a question about whether the political vacuum and impasse in Iraq will also be discussed during the visit, the signs indicate that the formation of the government and the election of the prime minister and the president of the republic took a long time, and as Iraqis say there is a kind of political obstructionin this country. Of course, it can  The Islamic Republic, given its good neighborliness, close relations, influence and contacts, can help Iraqi friends, parties and political currents to emerge from this situation. As a result, Mr. Halbousi's visit to Tehran can be assessed in the same way.

The former ambassador in Baghdad, regarding the validity of the report of "Baghdad Today" about his leadership of the delegation that will go to Iraq to address the issue of the political vacuum: "There  is a lot of news  about this, of course I traveled several times to Iraq and made a trip to Erbil two weeks ago, and perhaps the previous visits were reflected in their news, it is normal that we will have trips in the future.

He continued: "Our desire and goal of these trips is to develop relations in line with the constructive cooperation between the two countries." We believe that the final and primary decision-makersare the Iraqi parties and groups, and that no regional or transregional player can impose an issue inside Iraq.

"During the recent trip to Erbil, we also had frank and clear conversations with some."

Asked about the Iraqi parliament's report, Danai Farr said there was no evidence that the targeted building had links to Israel: "I read the report... It contains different paragraphs, and the report does not make a clear judgment on whether this building has anything to do with the Zionist regime or not,  this is a specific security problem that usually appears among more specific security groups, and  Iraq's withdrawal of its complaint indicates a kind of persuasionin Iraqi society. Of course, reports are prepared and published based on analysts' access to their data and information.

Danai Far also spoke about the impact of the fifth round of Iranian-Saudi talks and the return of stability to the countries of contact, including Iraq. Of course, this rule applies not only to Iraq, but to all countries in the region, because international relations today act as containers  and the issues of countries are affected and affected by those around them. Certainly, the better relations between the countries of the region, the more positive they will be in Iraq.