URGENT A source close to Abadi strongly responds to Tillerson’s call for the crowd to return to Iran
URGENT A source close to Abadi strongly responds to Tillerson’s call for the crowd to return to Iran
2017/10/23 11:31
[Ayna-Baghdad]
A source close to Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi expressed his surprise at the statements attributed to US Secretary of State Rex Terlson on the popular crowd.
The source told the agency of all Iraq [where], that “the fighters in the ranks of the popular crowd are Iraqi nationalists have made great sacrifices to defend their country and the Iraqi people and are subject to the Iraqi leadership in accordance with the law passed by the House of Representatives.”
“No one has the right to interfere in Iraqi affairs and decide what the Iraqis should do,” the source said.
“The Iraqis are fighting on Iraqi soil and there is no foreign combat force in Iraq,” he said.
“The presence of international coalition forces in Iraq or any other country is a limited presence for training purposes, logistical and air support and not to fight on Iraqi soil,” the source said.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Sunday it was time for Iranian-backed factions to return to their “homes” as well as Iranian advisers after helping Iraq defeat a preacher.
Tillerson made the remarks following a joint meeting with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz yesterday in Riyadh.
“The Iranian factions in Iraq should return to their homes as the war approaches,” Tillerson told a joint news conference with his Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir. “Foreign fighters in Iraq should return to their homes and allow the Iraqi people to regain control.”
A senior US official told Reuters that Tilerson was referring to the Popular Popular Forces and Iranian advisers in Iraq.
Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, slammed Tillerson’s comments, saying they were influenced by Saudi Arabia, Iran’s regional adversary. “Which country exactly do the Iraqis who rose up to defend their homes against Da’ash come from?”
“The shameful US foreign policy dictated by oil dollars.”
alliraqnews.com
