Iraqi PM hails Iran nuclear deal as 'common will to defeat Daesh'

Iraq’s prime minister welcomed the nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 countries on Wednesday. Haider Al-Abadi said that the agreement “is a sign of a common will to end conflict in the region and defeat the Daesh group,” using the Arabic acronym for ISIS.

“Daesh seeks to drag our region into perpetual conflict,” said Al-Abadi on social media. “The Iran deal expresses a common will to bring peace and security to our region.”

The militant group controls large areas in the north and west of Iraq, and has now expanded its influence to regional countries including Syria, Egypt and Libya. Both Tehran and Washington have played key roles over the past few months in helping Iraq to retake areas controlled by Daesh/ISIS.

The United States leads an international coalition, which does not include Iran, to launch air strikes against Daesh/ISIS sites. It also provides training and advice to the Iraqi security forces.

Iran and the P5+1 group (Russia, the US, China, Britain, France and Germany) concluded a deal on Tuesday in Vienna aimed at easing the country’s international isolation in exchange for the government in Tehran not seeking to develop nuclear weapons.