Hamad bin Ali Al Attiyah, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Qatar and his accompanying delegation met and conferred with IRI Minister of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics Mostafa Mohammad Najar. After the official welcoming ceremony of Qatari Chief of Staff, Mohammad Najar said the two countries’ historical, cultural, political and social commonalities are appropriate grounds for expansion of bilateral relations. “Defensive relations of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Qatar could be considered as a symbol for expansion of regional defensive ties,” he added. “IRI is committed to ensure stability and security of the Persian Gulf and the Hormoz Strait,” Iranian Minister said reiterating that IRI defensive power is in the service of security and stability of the strategic waterway. “IRI officials believe that security of the region could be ensured only through regional cooperation,” he said. At the other part of his remarks, Mohammad Najar announced IRI’s readiness to expand its defensive relations with the Persian Gulf littoral countries and reaffirmed that security of the Middle East region could be ensured only by the regional countries. He described withdrawal of American forces from Iraq as the first step in this regard.