TEHRAN — The United States will have no place in the future of the West Asia, and regional countries themselves will determine the direction of the region, Iran’s top security official said Tuesday, as Tehran called for closer regional cooperation and stronger security along its border with Iraq.

Major General Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, made the remarks during a meeting in Tehran with Faiq Zaidan, president of Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council. Rezaei said the countries of the region should be allowed to determine their own future without outside interference.

“The countries of the region will decide about their own future, and the US will have no place in the region’s future,” Rezaei said.

Rezaei also stressed Iran’s support for a “strong and independent Iraq,” saying Tehran attaches importance to regional cooperation and to enabling neighboring countries to shape their own political and security arrangements.

The Iranian security official also called for the status of anti-Iranian groups operating from areas along the Iran-Iraq border to be resolved. The issue has been a longstanding security concern for Tehran, which has repeatedly called on Iraq to prevent armed groups hostile to Iran from operating along the two countries’ shared frontier.

The meeting also highlighted the broader historical and cultural ties between Iran and Iraq. Rezaei emphasized the importance of strengthening regional cooperation, while Zaidan expressed appreciation for Iran’s support for Iraq and underscored the need for greater coordination between the two neighboring countries.

Zaidan conveyed greetings from Iraqi officials to Iran’s Leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, and paid tribute to the memories of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the Iranian and Iraqi commanders who were martyred in a US drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020.

The Iraqi judicial chief also stressed the importance of regional cooperation and called for continued efforts to safeguard security along the common border between Iran and Iraq.

Rezaei’s comments come as Iran continues to advocate a regional security framework led by neighboring states rather than external powers. His remarks underline Tehran’s longstanding position that the region’s political and security arrangements should be determined by regional countries themselves, rather than by the United States or other outside actors.

The emphasis on Iraq also reflects the importance Tehran places on bilateral security cooperation, particularly along the countries’ shared frontier and in addressing the presence of groups Iran considers hostile.