Official Tehran concerned over Iraq situation

Head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Hassan Rohani has expressed concern over mounting tensions in Iraq.

As the SNSC press office reported Tuesday, Rohani had said at his meeting with Ahmad Chalabi, member of the Iraq Interim Governing Council (IIGC), that "ensuring the Iraqi people's security is the topmost priority of the allied forces, because the steadily mounting tensions are bound to aggravate internal problems and destabilize the situation in that region." Rohani confirmed Iran's commitment to the preservation of Iraq's sovereignty and respect for its territorial integrity.

The SNSC secretary expressed protest against the allied forces' support of Mojaheddin-e Halq-e Iran - the Mojaheddin Organization of the Iranian Nation, a terrorist group seeking to overthrow the current regime in Iran -- and called upon the IIGC to offer serious resistance to that Iraqi-based organization.

Chalabi, in turn, said the US wished "to terminate the stage of its presence in Iraq, but was planning to take part in the formation of that country's new government in order to be absolutely sure that the new Iraqi authorities wouldn't be opposed to Washington."