Iran Vows to Participate in Any 'Sincere' Fight Against Terrorism in Region

Iran fully supports the government of Iraq and its people in their war against terrorism till reaching complete victory over Daesh and expressed satisfaction with the launch of a military offensive to liberate Mosul by the Iraqi government, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Iran will not stand aside and watch terrorism spread in the region and will play a role in any "sincere" fight against terrorism, especially in the neighboring countries, Bahram Qassemi, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, said Tuesday.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran supports and will play a role in any serious and sincere fight against terrorism in the region, specially in the neighboring states," Qassemi was quoted as saying by the Fars news agency.

Iran fully supports the government of Iraq and its people in their war against terrorism till reaching complete victory over Daesh, a terrorist group banned in Russia and a number of other states, and expressed satisfaction with the launch of a military offensive to liberate Mosul by the Iraqi government, Qassemi added.

In the early hours of Monday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi announced the start of a military operation to retake Mosul from the IS militants. According to local media, about 30,000 Iraqi soldiers and 4,000 Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are taking part in the operation, backed by air strikes carried out by the US-led international coalition.