Iran, Russia, China must adopt joint strategy against US bids: Official

Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani (3rd R) meets Chinese public security minister Guo Shengkun (3rd L) on the sidelines of an international security conference in Russia’s resort city of Sochi on April 26, 2018. (IRNA photo)

A senior Iranian security official has underlined the necessity for Iran, China and Russia to adopt a joint strategy to counter US attempts at harming the three countries.

Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani made the remarks at a Thursday meeting with Chinese public security minister Guo Shengkun on the sidelines of an international security conference in Russia’s resort city of Sochi.

Representatives from 110 countries are attending the two-day conference to discuss global security issues, including ways to counter terrorism and narcotics as well as the promotion of international peace and stability.

Shamkhani highlighted Tehran and Beijing’s willingness to promote their ties to the highest level, noting that efforts to remove some hurdles in the way of mutual cooperation, including in banking and financial sectors, must be considered as a priority.

The senior Iranian official pointed to ongoing efforts by the countries sponsoring Takfiri terrorism to relocate the remnants of such militant groups from the Middle East to Afghanistan, warning that the deployment of terrorist groups on Afghan soil will pose serious threats to the borders of Iran, China and Russia.

Shamkhani stressed the need for close cooperation among Iran, Russia, China, Afghanistan and Pakistan to counter the spread of terrorism in the region, calling for a joint intelligence, security and operational mechanism to put an end to the relocation of terrorist groups to Afghanistan.

The Daesh terror group began establishing a presence in Afghanistan almost a year after sweeping land grabs in Iraq and Syria in 2014. The Takfiri terrorist group took advantage of the ongoing chaos in Afghanistan and recruited some of its militants from among local Taliban defectors.

As Daesh has completely lost all of its urban strongholds in Iraq and Syria during the past year, it has stepped up its terror attacks in war-ravaged Afghanistan despite the presence of thousands of foreign troops there.

The Chinese official, in turn, reaffirmed Shamkhani’s stance on the US, saying Washington has been covertly supporting the destabilizing elements in the region, and is seeking to inflict harm on Iran, China and Russia by slapping sanctions on them.

He further slammed Washington’s refusal to abide by its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world countries, including China.

Beijing, he said, played a significant part in efforts that led to the conclusion of the accord, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and firmly supports its implementation.