TEHRAN, Mar 11 - Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the United States cannot “stop” Iran and Iraq’s mutual relations, reminding that Baghdad has established the ties of its own accord.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - Zarif made the remarks to BBC Arabic Television on Monday as he is accompanying President Hassan Rouhani during the latter’s historical visit to the Arab country.
“We have good relations with Iraq. Iraq is our neighbor,” the Iranian foreign minister said, and noted that not even former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hossein’s 1980-88 war on the Islamic Republic managed to separate the two nations, ending the historical, geographical, and even family ties between the countries.
“We have never asked the Iraqis to choose us,” the senior diplomat said. “It is the United States, which is pressuring Iraqis to choose [between Iran and the US],” Zarif stated, and noted that Tehran is not after competing with Washington in Iraq either.
Rouhani is in Baghdad on a three-day trip aimed at solidifying bilateral strategic ties. Earlier on Monday and after arrival, he met with his Iraqi counterpart Barham Salih.
He next met with Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi. The two sides signed five memorandums of understanding for the expansion of bilateral cooperation in various economic and healthcare sectors in Rouhani and Abdul-Mahdi’s presence.
The Iranian president is also slated to meet with Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbusi and a number of prominent lawmakers. He will also make stops at Shia holy sites and meet top Iraqi Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who is a major source of influence in the Arab country.
Religious ties have played a definitive role in the relations existing between Iran and Iraq, whose holy cities of Najaf and Karbala respectively house the shrines of the First and Third Shia Imams, Imam Ali and Imam Hussein (AS). Every year, millions of Iranians go on pilgrimage to the holy cities, especially during the ceremonies marking the anniversary of Imam Hussein’s martyrdom.
By providing the Iraqi military with military advisory support, the Islamic Republic played a central role in Iraq’s anti-terror battle against Daesh during the Takfiri group’s campaign of bloodshed and destruction in the Arab country between 2014 and 2017.
Commenting on the nature of the visit, Zarif said, “I do not believe that we are here either to take a measure against any country [or] to seek intervention on behalf of Iran with any country.” “Our positions have been very clear, and we called for dialog.”
He asserted that the Islamic Republic maintains a regional strategy called “a stronger region rather than strong countries or strong men in this region.” “We have had enough of strong men, we need a strong region,” he noted.
Source: Press TV
Your Comment