TEHRAN – Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani met with Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani in Najaf, Iraq on Tuesday.

Larijani, who arrived in Baghdad on Sunday for an unannounced three-day visit, told reporters that he discussed regional developments and ties between Iran and Iraq with Ayatollah Sistani, who is the most respected Shia religious leader in Iraq.

Ayatollah Sistani has called for unity among all Iraq’s religious and ethnic groups. In a recent meeting with Iraqi Sunni ulema, the grand ayatollah said, “There is no difference between Shias and Sunnis. You are our brothers and part of us.”

In a stopover in the holy city of Karbala, Larijani said countries that want security and stability in the region have no choice but to support the elected government of Iraq.

During his trip, the top Iranian security official has had talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi, and Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) Chairman Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim.

Iraqi officials have praised Iran’s decision to participate in the Iraq security conference, which is to gather the country’s neighbors and world powers in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh from May 3 to 4.