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Iran prepared to work with Pakistan to fight against terrorism: Irani FM

Iran says it is ready to boost cooperation with Pakistan in all spheres, including banking, trade, energy, economy, security and the fight against terrorism.

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Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was to travel later Wednesday to Damascus where he is expected to discuss a peace plan for ending the country’s civil war.

On July 14, Iran and the P5+1 countries – the US, France, Britain, Russian Federation and China plus Germany – finalized the text of the nuclear agreement, dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in Vienna over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Several pieces in regime-affiliated media outlets in Iran accuse Erdoğan of backing radical groups in Syria, a charge strictly denied by the Presidency in Turkey.

To a question the Iranian foreign minister said his country supports peace and security cooperation between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Zarif visited Lebanon Tuesday as a part of his second regional trip after the conclusion of the nuclear agreement.

Hezbollah S.G. and Zarif discussed latest developments in Lebanon and the region, the statement said.

Sources said the two sides also discussed matters relating to the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project.

It adds to recent signs of new efforts in the region to end diplomatic deadlock over a conflict that has killed a quarter of a million people, made 10 million homeless, left swathes of Syria in the hands of Islamic State militants and divided the countries of the Middle East on sectarian grounds.

Hizbullah has for weeks been trying to take back control of Zabadani from rebel forces.

Besieged by a rebel coalition including Ahrar al-Sham, their residents are mostly from the minority Shiite Muslim sect, of which the Alawite sect – to which the Assad clan belongs – is an offshoot.

Zarif, who arrives here from Islamabad in the evening, will call on Modi on Friday morning at 7, Race Course Road.

Earlier, Gadkari became the first minister of the Modi government to visit Iran and his tour saw New Delhi inking a Memorandum of Understanding with Tehran, pledging to build a container terminal and a multi-purpose cargo terminal on two berths at the Chabahar Port.

Shortly afterward, government warplanes attacked the rebel-held suburbs of Douma, Saqba, Kafr Batna and Hammouriyeh in the Eastern Ghouta region, killing at least 37 civilians and wounded more than 100, according to the Observatory.

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The strikes came as rebels fired dozens of rockets into Damascus, killing at least four people, according to Syria’s interior ministry.

Syrian President Bashar al Assad waving to an admiring crowd