Iran does not have troops in Iraq but is assisting Baghdad and the Kurds "through other means," Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on a visit to Erbil on Tuesday.
At a news conference with Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani, Zarif added that, "We ask for the unity and security of Iraq and we consider the security situation of Iraq as our own."
He was quoted by Rudaw media network as saying that the Islamic State (IS/formerly ISIS) is a global threat: "The IS is not a threat to the people of Syria and Iraq alone, but a threat to the whole world."
Zarif’s visit comes at a time when Iraq’s Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds are trying to put together an inclusive government in Baghdad.
The minister said Tehran backs the government of Iraq’s new Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, and would support any agreement between Baghdad and the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
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