After the killing of Soleimani .. Iraq invites foreign forces to leave its lands

The Iraqi parliament has passed a resolution calling on the government to work to end the presence of any foreign forces in the country, while the Iraqi Foreign Ministry summoned the US ambassador to Baghdad to protest against the recent US raids.

The head of the Iraqi caretaker government, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, said at the beginning of the special session of parliament that the presence of American forces in Iraq was determined to fight the Islamic State and train Iraqi forces, and it did not include any other tasks.

Abdul-Mahdi added that he was planning to meet Qassem Soleimani on the day he was assassinated, in order to receive the Iranian response to a Saudi Muslim message to Tehran via Iraq, including a vision regarding a breakthrough in Iraq and the region.

For his part, considered the leader of the Sadrist movement Muqtada al-Sadr the points raised by the Iraqi parliament to vote on the American presence "a poor response" is not commensurate with the American violation.

Al-Sadr called for the formation of what he called "the international resistance regiments", in response to the violation by the American forces of Iraqi sovereignty, as he described.

Al-Sadr also called on parliament to cancel the security agreement with the United States and not to adhere to its terms, and called for the closure of the American embassy in Iraq, and criminalization of communication with and punishment of the US government, in addition to closing US military bases in the country.

On the other hand, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry summoned the American ambassador to Baghdad, Matthew Tooler, to protest against the American raids in Qaim, and the raid that targeted Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis near Baghdad International Airport.

Escalating tension
In a statement, the State Department said that the American ambassador was informed of Iraq’s condemnation of the action, which it described as a flagrant violation of its sovereignty, and international norms and laws.

She stressed that what happened from the attacks contradicts the tasks agreed upon by the international coalition, which is limited to combating IS and training Iraqi security forces, in coordination with and under the supervision of the Iraqi government.

The ministry described the recent US military operations as unlawful and represented a condemned aggression that is causing escalation of tension, while the US administration should cooperate with Iraq in resolving the crises in the region.

For his part, Osama Al-Nujaifi, head of the Salvation and Development Front and the former vice president of the republic, said that the country's interest "should not be subject to the mood of one side, and that the security agreements signed between Iraq and the United States and foreign relations must be in accordance with the perspective of the national interest to according to emotions."

Al-Nujaifi added - in a tweet in response to the decision taken by the Iraqi parliament - that the national interest must be dealt with "away from the emotions and regional interests to preserve the sovereignty of the country."

In a parallel context, the international coalition led by the United States to fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria announced that it would suspend most operations at the present time, and focus on protecting the coalition forces and its bases, amid increasing tension with Iran.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) announced earlier the suspension of its training missions in Iraq.