Iraqi Media Official: Baghdad Pressured by US to Sour Ties with Iran

"The US administration, including the president, foreign ministry and its embassy in Baghdad, are pressuring Iraq" to darken ties with Iran, al-Siraj told the Arabic-language service of al-Jazeera news channel on Wednesday.

He added that Washington has cautioned Baghdad that it would help Iraq to come out of the current crisis only if Baghdad darkens ties with Tehran.

"Washington wants Baghdad to show hostile behavior towards Iran, while the Iraqis do not consider the Iranians as their enemy and certainly do not want any side to interfere in their affairs," al-Siraj said.

He also blasted the American officials for treating Iraq as a US colony by trafficking in the country without any permission and coordination with the government.

Iran and Iraq have forged close and brotherly relations in the past few years after Iraqi dictator Saddam was toppled.

In relevant remarks on Tuesday, Iraqi Ambassador to Tehran Sa'ad Javad Qandil underlined close and unbreakable relations between his country and Iran.

"Iran and Iraq are two countries in one front," Qandil said, addressing a ceremony in the Northern city of Qazvin.

He warned of the Western states' attempts to weaken the regional states, and said, "Economic insecurity is one of the weapons used by the US against Iran and other countries of the region."

Qandil also said that the foreign states are after disintegration of Syria politically, militarily and geographically through engineered chaos and sowing differences among different bodies in the country.

Also, in June, Iraqi President Barham Salih, in a meeting with Iran’s Ambassador to Baghdad Iraj Masjedi, reiterated his country’s high regard for bilateral ties with Tehran, describing the ties as broad and deep.

During the with Masjedi in Baghdad, Salih said that Iran is a Muslim country and a great neighbor to Iraq, adding the two neighbors share a border of 1,400 kilometers.

The Iraqi President also described Iran-Iraq relations as extensive and deep, adding that “the stability and security of Iran, Iraq and other countries in the region are intertwined.”

“The situation in Iraq and its way dealing with the current crises in the region are a result of the Iraqi national and independent decision and its transparent policy of preventing the escalation of tensions and crises with the aim of strengthening the stability and security of the countries of the region, including Iraq itself,” he added

Salih went on to say that “in the current situation, we have a historic responsibility to work to reduce the tensions in the region and prevent the escalation of tensions that threatens the stability of regional countries”.

Source:FarsNEWS