Extremism endangers security in West, South Asia: Iran minister

Moscow, April 25, IRNA – Iranian Minister of Defense Brigadier General Ahmad Hatami said in a meeting in Moscow that extremism and terrorism are threats to security and stability in South and West Asia. Hatami made the remarks in a meeting held on the sidelines of Moscow Conference on International Security with his Uzbek counterpart Bakhodir Kurbanov, according to Iran's Foreign Ministry. In the meeting, General Hatami expressed Iran's readiness to cooperate with the well-wishing countries, including Uzbekistan, in the region. The Iranian defense minister stressed the importance of developing Tehran-Tashkent security and defense cooperation as the two sides enjoy good relations in the areas of economy and politics and have a common understanding about the global and regional questions. Reminding terrorism and extremism as two dangerous phenomena caused by the US interference and its regional allies, Hatami said that such issues put South and West Asia regions in danger of instability and insecurity. For his part, the Uzbek defense minister said that the political will of the two sides' leaders prepared a good ground for fostering cultural, economic and political cooperation much more than before. He further called for expansion of Uzbekistan-Iran counter-terrorism cooperation as the two countries have common concern over the issue. Annual Conference on International Security is being held in Moscow, Russia, on April 23-25. Over 80 military and defense officials including the Iranian defense minister attended the conference. Follow us on Twitter @IrnaEnglish