Senior Iraqi Cleric Slams Trump’s Anti-Iran Comments

Leader of Iraq’s National Wisdom Movement Seyed Ammar al-Hakim denounced US President Donald Trump’s assertion that American forces would remain in Iraq to watch Iran, saying the Arab country would never be used as a place to threaten the security of others.

News ID: 443320

Date: 05 February 2019 - 12:07

RNA - In a message in his Twitter account, Ammar al-Hakim voiced fierce opposition to any plan for turning Iraq into a venue for the fulfillment of political purposes at the regional and international level or a place for monitoring the other countries or attacking them.

The Iraqi Constitution stipulates that the country must not be a source of regional or international insecurity and instability, the influential cleric underlined, saying the notion that Iraq would be a base for aggression against the neighbors is against Iraq’s national interests and security and will never materialize.

The criticism came after Trump reaffirmed his determination to pull the US troops out of "endless wars" in Syria and Afghanistan but said American troops would stay on in Iraq, partly "to be looking a little bit at Iran", Tasnim reported.

"We spent a fortune on building this incredible base. We might as well keep it," he said, referring to Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq that he visited in December.

"If somebody is looking to do nuclear weapons or other things, we're going to know it before they do," he said in an interview with CBS television on Sunday.

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