DUBAI, December 6. /TASS/. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is working hard to prevent the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group (outlawed in Russia) from expanding its influence in the region during his foreign trips to Syria, Turkey and Iraq, Iranian MP Alaeddin Boroujerdi said.
"During his trips to Syria, Turkey, and Iraq, Araghchi tries to ensure that the awful events of the past, when [terrorists from] IS invaded Syria and Iraq to establish their power, do not repeat themselves," the chairman of Iran's Foreign Policy and National Security Committee told the ILNA news agency in an interview.
Iran also hopes that Turkey, which is a neighbor of Syria, will not contribute to the escalation of the Syrian crisis, but will instead help preserve the country's territorial integrity and sovereignty, the Iranian MP noted.
Earlier, Iran's Foreign Ministry reported about Araghchi's departure to Baghdad, where he was expected to hold meetings with both Iraq's prime minister and president to discuss the Syrian issue. For his part, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson that an Astana format trilateral meeting (Iran, Russia, Turkey) on Syria at the level of foreign ministers is expected to be held in Qatar's capital on December 6.
On December 1, during a meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad, Araghchi reiterated Tehran's readiness to provide Damascus with the necessary support in the fight against terrorism and expressed confidence that the Syrian government would overcome the militants. The next day, Iran's Foreign Minister visited Ankara, where he held talks with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan. The sides revealed plans to revive the Astana format and hold a trilateral meeting on Syria at the level of foreign ministers (Turkey, Iran, and Russia) in the near future.
On the morning of November 27, units of the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group (outlawed in Russia) launched a massive attack in northern Syria. The Syrian army command reported that the terrorists targeted villages and towns defended by government forces, as well as military facilities. Syrian government forces launched an operation to counter the attack.
On November 30, the Syrian army command said that strikes had been carried out on the positions of militants infiltrating many neighborhoods in the city of Aleppo. The Syrian Defense Ministry stated that the army had to regroup in order to protect the lives of civilians and military personnel and prepare for a counterattack.
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