In a telephone conversation with his Iraqi counterpart on Sunday evening, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the parliamentary resolution on putting an end to the presence of American military forces in Iraq is of great significance and marks a new beginning for the promotion of regional stability and security.
In an extraordinary session on Sunday, Iraq’s parliament passed a resolution calling on the government to expel foreign troops from the country after the US assassinated top Iranian commander General Qassem Soleimani and the second-in-command of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in a drone strike on January 3.
In the telephone conversation, President Rouhani emphasized that martyrdom of the great commanders of the axis of resistance would cause a new upheaval in the region and cement the relationship between Iran and Iraq.
Highlighting the age-old relations between the two neighbours, Rouhani said, “It is necessary for us to stand firm to protect the great Iraqi people’s right to security, sovereignty and supremacy, and the Iranian nation and government will definitely defend Iraq’s sovereignty like before.”
“We must act in such a way that the enemies realize that they could not harm the relations between the two nations,” Rouhani told the Iraqi president.
“The Iraqi government and nation have had difficult days, and I hope that the Iraqi government’s efforts and prudence would result in stronger security, stability and unity in that country,” President Rouhani added.
He finally paid tribute to General Soleimani for standing with the Iraqi Kurdish and Arab people when the ISIS terrorist group invaded Erbil a few years ago, saying the late commander made unwavering efforts to ensure security in Iran, Iraq and the region.
In turn, President of Iraq Barham Salih took a swipe at the US for the criminal assassination of General Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, saying the two neighbors are faced with a big sedition.
“I hope that we could overcome such big sedition successfully under the wise handling of the Islamic Republic’s officials and would be able to establish peace and stability in the region,” the Iraqi president added.
Pointing to the close and historical bonds between Iran and Iraq, Salih underlined that “unity and friendship” between the two neighbors will greatly contribute to the establishment of regional security.
