US Incapable of Driving Wedge between Iran, Iraq: Zarif

In a Monday interview with BBC Arabic in Baghdad, Iran’s top diplomat underlined that the Islamic Republic will never embroil Iraq in its conflict with the US.

“We will never take our animosity towards the US to Iraq. This is the US which has adopted a hostile stance towards the Arab country. This is the US which is putting pressure on Iraqis to make a choice between Tehran and Washington. We have never asked Iraqis to make the choice,” he said.

Zarif went on to say that Iran wants to establish good relations with its neighbouring country, Iraq.

“Iraq is our neighbour. The US can’t create a rift between Iran and Iraq,” he noted.

The Iranian foreign minister also underlined that Iran and Iraq are connected to each other in terms of history and geography.

“Even eight years of war imposed by Saddam Hussein on Iranians and even Iraqis failed to damage the historical, geographical and family bonds between the two nations of Iran and Iraq,” he said.

Zarif is accompanying Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during his three-day visit to Iraq.

Rouhani arrived in Baghdad earlier Monday on a historic trip aimed at solidifying strategic ties between the two nations amid US pressure to keep them apart.