We Welcome Iran’s Assistance

Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Thursday welcomed Iran’s assistance in the fight against Islamic State (ISIS) jihadists, but warned Tehran to respect Baghdad’s sovereignty.

 

“Everything must be done through the government of Iraq,” Abadi told an audience of American policy experts at a Washington think tank, according to the AFP news agency.

 

“We welcome the Iranian government’s support for us,” Abadi added, on the third day of a visit aimed at shoring up support in the United States for his fledgling government as it battles the jihadists.

 

Washington says Iranian officers provided advice and artillery to Shiite militias involved in the operation to retake the city of Tikrit from ISIS in recent weeks.

 

Asked about the presence in Iraq of Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds force, the foreign operations arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Abadi stressed, “Iraqis were sacrificing to get their country.”

 

To say that “others are doing this on behalf of Iraqis, Iraqis wouldn’t accept that,” Abadi was quoted as having said.

 

Read More: Iraqi PM: We Welcome Iran’s Assistance – Middle East – News – Arutz Sheva