Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Ali Akbar Velayati, senior adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, July 12, 2018. (Kremlin Photo)
TEHRAN, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Iran's advisory missions in Syria and Iraq will end if the two host governments want so, Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Friday.
"Iran's presence in Syria and Iraq is advisory and if their respective governments want it, we will leave (the Arab countries) immediately," Velayati was quoted by Tasnim news agency as saying.
Velayati referred to the U.S. demands for Iran's exit from Syria and Iraq.
If Iran and Russia leave Syria in the current situation, terrorism would return to the Arab country again, he warned.
"The United States is seeking to divide Iraq into three parts and Syria to five," the former Iranian foreign minister said.
Velayati is currently visiting Russia to meet the country's senior officials to discuss the Syria issue.
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