Analyst:

US cannot force Iraq out of Iran ties

The United States cannot force Iraq out of Iran ties, says an analyst, adding that Tehran offer of military assistance to Baghdad indicates the depth of the relationship between the two countries.

News ID: 444736

Date: 06 May 2019 - 04:05

RNA - The comments came after a senior Iranian military commander said Iran is prepared to offer various types of assistance to reinforce Iraq’s defensive capabilities, including the sharing of experience.

Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of the Aerospace Division of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), made the remark during a meeting with the visiting Iraqi Air Defense Commander Lt. Gen. Jabar Obeid Kadhim Jabbar on Friday.

“The United States did not help Iraq when it needed help the most … in order to put pressure on the government to accept US demands. The Iranians immediately sent their forces into Iraq to support the Iraqis, they gave them all sorts of weapons and logistical support to stand up to ISIS (Daesh),” Dr. Mohammad Marandi political analyst and university professor told Press TV in an interview on Sunday.

“And taking into account the fact that the Iraqi and Iranian relations have thrived and that the two countries are very close right now, and Iran produces arms at a very inexpensive price unlike the Americans which make huge profit in their sales, I think this is both a sincere and very good offer to Iraq but more importantly it is symbolic of the depth of the relationship between the two countries and it also means to put pressure on the United States so that it is not able to force the Iraqis into purchasing useless and highly expensive weapons from the United States,” he added.

‘US, allies seek to eliminate independent regional states’

Meanwhile, another analyst told Press TV that the “overriding objective” of the United States and its allies is to eliminate independent states in the Middle East.

“We have to remember that the overriding objective of the Americans and their allies in the Middle East –Israel and the [Persian] Gulf states - is to eliminate governments in the Middle East that are independent, that are independent of this international system that’s controlled by the United States, which this is the reason why the Americans entered the Iraq war in 2003. It is the reason for the war in Libya, it is the reason for the American efforts to undermine the government of President [Bashar] al-Assad in Syria and it is the reason for America’s long-standing bellicosity against Iran,” said Keith Preston.

“Interestingly what has happened as a result is that the countries that are under attack by these external Western forces and Western controlled forces in the region have actually moved closer together in a kind of defensive alliance,” he added.

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