US in Iraq Archives - Iran News Daily

Iraqi MP Calls for Expulsion of US Forces from Iraq

reporter 1222 — Wed, 01 Jul 2020 08:45:50 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – A senior Iraqi lawmaker reiterated the call for the expulsion of US forces from his country, saying American jets are violating the Iraqi airspace on a daily basis and killing or injuring dozens of people in their attacks.

Hadi al-Ameri, the head of the Fatah (Conquest) Alliance in Iraq’s parliament, made the remarks on Tuesday and said the time has come to bring stability to Iraq and that the goal will not be achieved with the presence of US troops in the country.

Ameri also underlined that the US threatens to attack anyone who is not affiliated with them, such as top Iranian commander Lt. General Qassem Soleimani and deputy head of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units forces Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

General Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, along with Muhandis and several of their companions, was assassinated in a US airstrike authorized by US President Donald Trump near Baghdad International Airport on January 3.

Both General Soleimani and Muhandis played a key role in defeating the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group which at its peak, threatened a complete take-over of Iraq and Syria.

Iraqi lawmakers unanimously approved a bill on January 5, demanding the withdrawal of all foreign military forces led by the United States from the country following the assassination of the two anti-terror commanders.

Later on January 9, former Iraqi prime minister, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, called on the United States to dispatch a delegation to Baghdad tasked with formulating a mechanism for the move.

The 78-year-old politician said Iraq rejected any violation of its sovereignty, particularly the US military’s violation of Iraqi airspace in the assassination airstrike.

Baghdad and Washington are currently in talks over the withdrawal of American troops. Iraqi resistance groups have vowed to take up arms against US forces if Washington fails to comply with the parliamentary order.

The post Iraqi MP Calls for Expulsion of US Forces from Iraq appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Iran: US moves in Iraq can make disaster in region

reporter 1222 — Thu, 02 Apr 2020 04:30:18 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – The spokesman of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday that US military moves in Iraq are against the announced request of the Iraqi Government, parliament, and people and can lead the region toward instability and disastrous conditions.

Seyyed Abbas Mousavi said that the US is making the moves while the UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the international community have demanded an end to any belligerent and tension-creating measures due to the outbreak of the COVID-19, IRNA reported.

Calling on the US to refrain from generating tensions, Mousavi urged Washington to respect the will of the Iraqi government and people and leave the country.

The post Iran: US moves in Iraq can make disaster in region appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Iraq proposes complaints on US at the UN Security Council

reporter 1222 — Tue, 17 Mar 2020 11:34:50 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iraq has sent two letters to the UN Security Council, complaining about the recent airstrikes of the US forces against Iraqi security forces.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Iraq Spokesman, Ahmed Al-Sahaf announced the proposal of complaints on the US initiatives to the UN security council on Tuesday.

In these letters, US airstrikes have been regarded as hostile acts violating the set conditions of the presence of the American forces in Iraq, the Iraqi official explained.

Last Friday, Iraqi military officials strongly condemned the United States military for airstrikes launched overnight that they said killed three Iraqi soldiers, two police officers, and a civilian worker, and damaged an unfinished civilian airport.

American officials said that the strikes had hit five sites where rockets and other weapons were stored by Kataib Hezbollah. They said Kataib Hezbollah fighters were also killed in the airstrikes. US officials also added that the strikes were retaliation for a rocket attack on Wednesday that killed two Americans and a British soldier and wounded 14 others at Camp Taji, an Iraqi military base north of Baghdad.

On Friday, Iraqi President Barham Salih said such “repeated violations” could cause Iraq to unravel into a failed state and revive the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group.

As of last week, US and foreign forces’ camps have been hit three times in Iraq by rockets.

The post Iraq proposes complaints on US at the UN Security Council appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Salih, Trump discuss US withdrawal from Iraq

reporter 1222 — Thu, 23 Jan 2020 13:57:32 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iraqi President Barham Salih and his US counterpart Donald Trump have exchanged viewpoints about a reduction in the number of American military forces in the war-ravaged Arab country, weeks after a parliamentary bill demanded the withdrawal of all US-led foreign troops.

“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.

The post Salih, Trump discuss US withdrawal from Iraq appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Iran call for region to drive US forces out

reporter 1222 — Wed, 15 Jan 2020 06:29:39 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iran President Hassan Rouhani called for constant efforts by regional nations to drive the American military forces out of the region.

In a Tuesday meeting with Syria’s Prime Minister Imad Khamis in Tehran, Rouhani thanked the Syrian government and people for their sympathy over the US assassination of top Iranian commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani and the loss of Iranian passengers in a recent crash of a Ukrainian jetliner near Tehran, according to Tasnim News Agency.

Rouhani said the late Iranian commander was assassinated in a US terrorist attack because he was a supporter of oppressed people across the region and thwarted plots hatched by the US and other enemies.

“Iran will never forget such a grave US crime and believe that regional nations should not relax until ending the military presence of the US forces in the region and evicting those invaders,” he underlined.

“Today, the Americans’ interference in the affairs of other countries and their attempts to seize Syria’s oil wells have clearly revealed that they’ve never cared about the interests of regional nations,” he deplored.

Rouhani also reaffirmed Iran’s commitment to supporting the Syrian government and people, saying that cooperation between Tehran and Damascus should continue until achieving the final victory, eradicating terrorism, evicting the foreign occupiers from Syria, and helping the Syrian refugees return to their homeland.

Khamis, for his part, offered condolences over the martyrdom of Lt. Gen. Soleimani and described the loss of the Iranian commander as a major disaster for all freedom-seeking nations in the world.

The Syrian premier also said that Iran’s retaliatory missile attack on a US military base in Iraq has sent a clear message to regional and world governments. “It showed the enemies that the arrogance has no place in this region anymore.”

Highlighting the continued efforts to eradicate terrorism in the region, Khamis added, “The presence of Americans in Syria is a blatant example of occupation, and we believe that all nations and governments must stand against their (US) illegitimate presence in the region.”

He further offered condolences to Iran over the deaths of people in the Ukrainian plane crash, saying Iran’s admission of responsibility for the accident indicates the Iranian officials’ honesty and prudence.

The Syrian nation is grateful to the “Iranian brothers” for all their support and help, Khamis went on to say, calling for efforts to expand the trade ties and broaden cooperation between Damascus and Tehran in various fields.

The post Iran call for region to drive US forces out appeared first on Iran News Daily.