Envoy: Iraq Owes Sovereignty, Territorial Integrity to Iran

Iraqi Ambassador to Tehran Rajeh Saber Abboud al-Moussavi appreciated the Iranian officials for their anti-terrorism assistance to his country, and said without Iran’s help, Iraq would have lost its sovereignty and territorial integrity, AVA Diplomatic reports.

“Hadn’t it been for the Popular Mobilization forces, the Iraqi army and the Islamic Republic’s support, Iraq would have fallen by now,” al-Mousavi said in an interview with Iran’s state news agency on Saturday.

“Iran’s presence in Iraq has entirely been based on the Iraqi government’s demand and is of an advisory nature,” he said.

Al-Moussavi said that Iraq and Iran have “strategic relations”, adding that, “the two countries form each other’s strategic depths and are both after stability and calm in the region”.

“Should Iraq fall, so will every country in the region, and there will be chaos in all those countries,” he warned.

Al-Mousavi further censured foreign intervention in Iraq in the name of fighting terrorism. “Leave us. You cannot be our leaders. The era of colonialism has ended and countries want to take their respective state affairs into their own hands.”

Iran has been helping the Syrian and Iraqi army and popular forces in retaking control over the countries’ towns back from the terrorists.

The Iranian officials have always emphasized that the country has not deployed forces in Syria and Iraq and its presence in the friendly Arab countries is limited to a counseling role.

Earlier this month, Secretary of Iran’ Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani underlined his country’s continued efforts to help Iraq and Syria in combat against the terrorist groups.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran will continue its advisory role and assistance to the Iraqi and Syrian governments until the full removal of the danger of the terrorist groups in the region,” Shamkhani said in a meeting with Head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq Ammar al-Hakim in Tehran.

He congratulated the Iraqi nation and government on the liberation of the strategic city of Fallujah from the terrorists’ hands, and said, “Internal unity and using domestic capacities is a successful and reliable experience for continuing the fighting against terrorism, specially for the liberation of Mosul.”

Shamkhani said that the suicide and blind attacks against the Iraqi people are the result of the ISIL’s anger at its failures and will backfire on the terrorist group and its supporters.

“While the US and its certain allies were seeking to justify their presence and destabilizing acts in the region by hatching a 7-year-long plan to fight against terrorism in Iraq and Syria, the Iraqi people and security forces’ power showed that the ISIL’s full annihilation can be rapidly accessed by reliance on domestic capacities,” he said.