Head of the Strategic Research Center of Iran's Expediency Council Ali Akbar Veleyati cautioned that the Takfiri terrorists have plans to make inroads into Central Asia, a threat which he said necessitates Iran and Russia’s vigilance.
“We know that Takfiri terrorists seek to infiltrate into Central Asia, a region in the security domain of Russia and the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Velayati said Tuesday in a meeting in Tehran with a former advisor of Russia’s president.
He stressed that Tehran and Moscow cannot be indifferent to the plots that entail insecurity in Central Asia.
Velayati also pointed to Takfiri terrorists’ proceeds from narcotics trafficking, adding, “Drugs and terrorism are in fact two interrelated issues.”
He explained that illicit drug trafficking is not simply an illegal trade, but something that has links with the international policies of certain countries.
Back in September, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) held a summit in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, to discuss the threat posed by the ISIL terrorist group and its possible foothold in Central Asia.
In a joint statement, the six member countries -Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan- expressed concerns about a possible infiltration of the ISIL militants from Afghanistan into Central Asia, and possibly Russia.
ISIL, also known as Daesh, is a terrorist group operating in Iraq and Syria which is believed to be supported by the West and some regional Arab countries. The terrorist group claims as an independent state the territory of Iraq and Syria, with implied future claims intended over more of the Levant, including Lebanon, occupied Palestine, Jordan, Cyprus, and Southern Turkey.