Zarif says US can’t stop Iran-Iraq relations
Tehran (KNA) - Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the United States cannot “stop” Iran and Iraq’s mutual relations, reminding that Baghdad has established the ties of its own accord.
Zarif made the remarks to BBC Arabic Television on Monday as he is accompanying President Hassan Rouhani during the latter's historical visit to the Arab country.
"We have good relations with Iraq. Iraq is our neighbor," the Iranian foreign minister said, and noted that not even former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hossein's 1980-88 war on the Islamic Republic managed to separate the two nations, ending the historical, geographical, and even family ties between the countries.
"We have never asked the Iraqis to choose us," the senior diplomat said. "It is the United States, which is pressuring Iraqis to choose [between Iran and the US]," Zarif stated, and noted that Tehran is not after competing with Washington in Iraq either.
Rouhani is in Baghdad on a three-day trip aimed at solidifying bilateral strategic ties. Earlier on Monday and after arrival, he met with his Iraqi counterpart Barham Salih.
Source: PressTV