“Contrary to US who seeks interests in dividing and provoking conflicts, the Islamic Republic of Iran is after cooperation and collaboration with countries of the region,” asserted Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran on Monday.
The Iranian foreign minister articulated that cooperation between Iraq and its Arab neighbors is of no harm to the Islamic Republic of Iran. “Quite the contrary we take it as an opportunity for our interests,” reassured Mr. Zarif.
Responding to Tillerson’s call that it is now the time for the fighters against the ISIL to return home, Zarif said, “They are now at their home awaiting nobody’s order.”
“If they had waited for Tillerson or US government’s order, now we would have ISIL in Baghdad and Erbil,” asserted the Iranian top diplomat.
“I am happy that they never listened to nobody’s order except clerics to defend their homeland and homes,” said Mr. Zarif.
The Iranian top diplomat made the remarks at the end of the 13ht meeting of the Joint Commission of Iran and South Africa in Pretoria, in reaction to the latest remarks of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. The US diplomat claimed that there are Iranian forces in Iraq and called them to leave Iraq. He said that the Shias should leave to let Iraq be rebuilt by its neighbors. Tillerson's visit to Riyadh was concurrent with the meeting of a council established between Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
Since the outbreak of ISIL crisis in Iraq, many Iraqi officials and analysts have emphasized that the support provided by Iran saved Baghdad from falling into the hands of terrorists.
During the presidential debates in US, back in 2016, Trump referred to documents which proved ISIL was created by US during the time of Hillary Clinton acting as US Secretary of State.
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