Talking to reporters along with Sheikh Humam Hamoudi, Iraqi parliament first deputy speaker and Hadi Al-Ameri Head of Badr Organization, Velayati said Tehran and Baghdad enjoy strategic ties.

According to IRNA he went on to add that the fates of Iran and Iraq have been interwoven, continuing that Tehran would spare no efforts to expand ties with Baghdad.

Velayati said Iran considers defending Iraq as its own duty and the reverse is also true, expressing hope that the two countries' ties could be expanded in all arenas.

Addressing the same gathering, Hamoudi said only Baghdad is authorized to decide about the presence of foreign forces on the Iraqi territory.

The Iraqi official deemed the presence of foreign troops in the country as 'unacceptable', stressing that the Iraq parliament would decide about the case.

Hamoudi said the Middle East problems merely could be settled via the regional countries and the presence of foreign forces would further fan the flames of problems in the region.

He added that the foreign forces should not be present in the region under the pretext of combating the Islamic State (IS) or other terrorist groups.

Reporter’s code: 50101