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“We will continue to support, Iraq,” Macron said at a news conference in Baghdad with his Iraqi counterpart Barham Salih, Reuters reported.

French officials have said Paris is concerned by a resurgence in Iraq of ISIS, which is profiting from political uncertainty.

ISIS, which once occupied a third of Iraq’s territory, has been largely defeated there but continues to carry out ambushes, assassinations and bombings.

Macron said the war against ISIS isn’t finished. “We will continue to act alongside you.”

“The second challenge is the one of the multiple foreign interferences that have been going on for several years.”

Salih said Iraq should not become a battleground for proxy conflicts between other states.

“Iraq is a sovereign state that wants balanced relations with all its neighbors,” said Salih.

“We do not want Iraq to be a battleground for the conflicts of others, we want others to participate in achieving stability in Iraq and respecting its sovereignty.”

Macron’s visit is the first by a Western leader to Iraq since Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi took office in May, becoming the third head of government in a chaotic 10-week period that followed months of deadly protests.

Kadhimi was selected by Parliament in May to head a government that would guide the country toward early elections and has called for one to be held in June 2021.

Early elections are a main demand of anti-government protesters who staged months of mass demonstrations last year.

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On Thursday, April 9, Iraqi President Barham Salih in coordination with Iraqi political parties tapped Mustafa Al-Kadhimi for premiership and forming the cabinet and introduced him to the parliament after Adnan Zurfi withdrew from forming government in Iraq. Zurfi had been designated for the job after days of conflicts between Iraqi parliament, political parties and Iraqi, and ultimately with initiatives of Iraq President Salih on March 17 and was introduced to the Parliament, and since the beginning, Americans tried to convince Al-Zurfi to accept the job through lobbying and spending money for the parliament and parties but they failed and ultimately they resorted to create terror and panic but by Iran Quds Forces Commander General Esmail Qaani’s visit to Baghdad their efforts which were like a coup were thwarted.

IRAN NEWS POLITICAL DESK

After being tapped for the job, Al-Kadhimi in his first televised address to the nation emphasized that arms should be in the hands of the government to run the country.

According to Baghdad Today report, Al-Kadhimi in his first televised speech addressing the Iraqi people said they have a big test ahead and it is a national duty and everybody is responsible for it. He added that for many years since the collapse of Baath Party and Saddam Hussein, Iraqi people’s demands have not been yet materialized and all are responsible for the failures.

Al-Kadhimi vowed to form a government to serve the public and the government will not make decisions in dark and isolated rooms for Iraqi people. He reiterated that his government will act rather than talk. Kadhimi pledged to protect Iraqis from the Coronavirus pandemic by using all domestic capacities and foreign relations. He then said, “Iraqi sovereignty is a red line,” adding that it is not a matter for debate and his government will do its best to safeguard Iraq’s sovereignty. He reiterated that Iraq belongs to Iraqis and its sovereignty is not a matter of debate.

He said all arms should be in the hands and control of the government and not in hands of groups or individuals. He stressed that his government will never allow anyone to insult any Iraqi citizen by accusing him/her of being linked to foreigners, adding that Iraqis are born to the civilizations.

Kadhimi vowed to fight corruption as a national mission, and to return displaced people back home is his objective that he will not abandon it. He urged all Iraqis to cooperate with him for boosting trust and protecting Iraq against the conflicts.

Of course it should be noticed that by his remarks on public disarmament do not mean Hashd Al-Shaabi and he does know well the message of Iraqi groups that Iraq parliament approval is serious and passing of the time will change nothing about the nature of the approval (exit of the U.S. troops from Iraq).

So he continued to say, “All security body in different sections (Army, Police, Hashd Al-Shaabi and Peshmerga) will continue their tasks decisively for preventing spread of arms.

The PM-designate can get vote of confidence of all parties and parliament in one month. Formation of the government is much important than bread so groups and parties can interact by insisting on exit of the U.S. troops and they can cooperate with him while his priority is Iraq’s independence. I think Iran  insists more on stability in Iraq and it will never be ready to accept that Iraq’s independence and national interests are taken hostage by political currents and Iraqi people remain deprived from interests of stability.

 By: Hamid Reza Naghashian

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TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iraqi President Barham Salih appointed Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi as the country’s new prime minister, according to state television, ending more than two months of political deadlock.

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“We’ve had a very good relationship. And we’re down to a very low number. We’re down to 5,000. So we’re down to a very low number, historically low, and we’ll see what happens,” Trump told journalists following a meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in the Swiss Alpine resort of Davos on Wednesday with Braham Salih.

Salih and Trump also discussed the importance of respecting the demands of the Iraqi people to preserve the country’s sovereignty.

“We have a lot of common interests, the fight against extremism, stability in the neighborhood, and [a] sovereign Iraq that is stable, friends of the neighbors and friends of the United States,” the Iraqi president commented.

On January 5, Iraqi lawmakers unanimously approved a bill, demanding the withdrawal of all foreign military forces led by the United States from the country.

Late on January 9, Iraq’s caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi called on the United States to dispatch a delegation to Baghdad tasked with formulating a mechanism for the withdrawal of US troops from the country.

According to a statement released by the Iraqi premier’s office, Abdul-Mahdi “requested that delegates be sent to Iraq to set the mechanisms to implement the parliament’s decision for the secure withdrawal of (foreign) forces from Iraq” in a phone call with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

The prime minister said Iraq rejects violation of its sovereignty, particularly the US military’s violation of Iraqi airspace in the airstrike that assassinated Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, the deputy head of PMU, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, and their companions.

“The prime minister said American forces had entered Iraq and drones are flying in its airspace without permission from Iraqi authorities and this was a violation of the bilateral agreements,” the statement added.

The US State Department bluntly rejected the request the following day.

‘Friday anti-US demonstrations in Iraq will mark new revolution’

A high-ranking official from the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), better known by the Arabic word Hashd al-Sha’abi, says Friday’s march against the presence of United States troops in the country will turn a new page in Iraq’s history.

“Our beloved country is undergoing special and exceptional circumstances. After the US aggression targeted the sons of Hashd al-Sha’abi and counter-terrorism leaders, the truth behind US military presence finally came to light, and it was revealed that American troops have not been deployed in order to help Iraq, and will not withdraw whenever the Iraqi government requests them to do so,” Qais al-Khazali, leader of Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, which is part of the PMU, said in a statement released on Wednesday.

He added, “Our country is now living in an occupation phase… The Iraqi nation rejects humiliation, shame, occupation, and aggression. (US President Donald) Trump has said that he wants to control the Iraqi oil… Iraqi people have thwarted the US scenario of ISIS Takfiri terrorist group.”

Khazali further noted that Friday’s demonstrations to condemn the American presence in Iraq will not only be the day of sovereignty defense but will rather be the day of the second revolution – a century after the Great Iraqi Revolution of 1920 when people staged mass demonstrations against British forces that had occupied Iraq during the First World War.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) – Reports suggest that the US Administration has issued a draft of possible sanctions against Iraq to the Iraqi President Barham Salih.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) – Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held phone conversations with his counterparts in Iran and Iraq following the US assassination of Iran’s General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad on Friday.

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According to Fars News Agency, Iraqi President Barham Salih announced his resignation on Thursday to open up for public choice after protests over unemployment and low-quality public services.

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Salih, for his part, said boosting relations with Iran and other Islamic states is the best way for reinforcing the stability in the region and establishing balanced ties between the regional countries, especially the neighbors.

The two also reviewed the latest regional developments as well as bilateral ties and stressed finding a constructive solution to the regional issues.

Upon his arrival to Baghdad earlier in the day, the Iranian diplomat met and held talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi.

According to the public relations office of the Iraqi premier, the officials discussed the recent regional developments, especially with regards to the 2015 nuclear agreement (JCPOA) and Iran’s recent countermeasures against the US’ unilateral moves.

The diplomats noted that both Iran and Iraq have been affected by US sanctions on Tehran, which began following the US government’s withdrawal from the JCPOA last year while stressing that the deal should be preserved despite Washington’s hawkish moves.

The report said that parts of the meeting were dedicated to a review of efforts in Iraq and Iran to follow up on the agreements signed during a recent trip of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to Iraq and the last year visit by Abdul-Mahdi to the Iranian capital Tehran.

Zarif’s visit to Iraq comes within the framework of Tehran’s consultations with regional partners.

Earlier this week, Zarif visited Islamabad to hold talks with senior Pakistani officials on bilateral ties, and last week, he traveled to Turkmenistan, India, Japan and China as part of his outreach to the regional countries to boost the mutual cooperation with them amid the growing tensions between Washington and Tehran.

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