Russia, Iran agree to coordinate efforts to fight Islamic State - Russian FM

MOSCOW, August 17. /TASS/. Russia and Iran will coordinate their counter-terrorism efforts, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday reporting a conversation between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif. The foreign ministers "confirmed similarity of the sides' attitudes towards stabilisation of the situation in the Middle East and North Africa," the ministry said. "This will help to more closely coordinate efforts of the two countries, aimed mainly at facilitating settlement of the conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Yemen and stepping up joint fight against the terrorist threat posed by Islamic State and other extremist groups," it said. Lavrov and Zarif also extensively discussed current issues of the countries' bilateral relations, the ministry said, adding that emphasis was put on the need to "intensify practical cooperation in most promising areas in line with high-level bilateral agreements". "The ministers stressed that reaching a comprehensive agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme in Vienna opens up additional opportunities for deepening Russia-Iran multi-faceted cooperation," the ministry added. Iran and six major world powers struck a historic nuclear deal on July 14 bringing sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on Tehran's atomic programme. The deal containing nearly 100 pages of text - including five annexes - follows more than two weeks of intense negotiations in Austria’s capital involving foreign ministers from seven countries - Iran, Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States - and the EU’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini. Read more