In a meeting with Iraqi Vice-President Nouri al-Maliki, Velayati emphasized that after the defeat of ISIS by the resistance movement, “we must be more watchful than before about the situation in the region.”
Referring to the separatist and divisive plots of Washington in the region, he noted that the resistance movement should prevent the gradual deployment of the US forces in eastern Euphrates, according to a Farsi report by IRIB News Agency.
The Islamic Republic of Iran stands alongside the Iraqi people and government, he said, expressing hope that the upcoming Iraqi elections would create security and stability in the country with all political groups playing an active role.
In turn, al-Maliki also presented an analysis of the future strategies of the resistance movement in the region underlining that Washington is trying to regain its foothold in Iraq.
He argued that due to Iraq’s rich Islamic culture and the presence of Islamic Marja’, the US cannot have a military presence in this country as it has in Japan and Korea.
“Although the Iraqi people live in a poor condition, they will not allow anyone to hurt their independence and sovereignty.”
He highlighted that the establishment of US military bases in Syria would create a new wave of terrorism and strengthen the Takfiri movements whose main goal is to weaken the resistance front, especially the Islamic Republic of Iran.
In the course of this meeting, the two sides also discussed the development of bilateral ties as well as the latest regional developments.
The US tends to maintain an open-ended military presence in Syria under the pretext of full defeat of ISIS claiming that it wants to help end the civil war in the Arab country.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Donald Trump does not want to “make the same mistakes” that were made in 2011, when US forces left Iraq.
