Iran's ambassador to Iraq, Iraj Masjedi, said, Tuesday, that Tehran reserves the right to retaliate against the United States for the assassination of the former commander of the Iranian Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, at the beginning of this year, while Iraqi President Barham Salih stressed the need to reduce tensions in the region.
Masjedi clarified that Tehran's retaliation against Washington "does not necessarily have to be military," according to what the Iranian Tasnim International Agency quoted (especially).
He added, "We have the right to take revenge on the Americans for their historic crime of assassinating General Soleimani and Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis in early January, and revenge for this criminal act will not necessarily be military."
He stressed that the expulsion of the US forces from the region was "revenge," pointing out that the Iranian missile attack on the American Ain Al-Assad base in Iraq (on January 8, 2020) was a response to the assassination of Soleimani.
Meanwhile, my mosque denied any involvement of Tehran in the recent missile attack on the US embassy in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.
He said, "Iran does not support any group that may have launched this attack," according to the same source.
On December 20, unknown persons fired Katyusha rockets at the Green Zone in central Baghdad, targeting the US embassy.
Washington accuses the Iraqi factions close to Iran, headed by "Kataib Hezbollah", of being behind the attacks.
3 files
Sources close to the government of the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, said that the Iraqi delegation that visited Iran, headed by Abu Jihad Al-Hashemi, discussed 3 main files, most notably the security file, and the issue of fugitive weapons outside the control of the government, the repeated attacks on the US embassy, and differences between the factions Armed in light of recent developments.
The visit also discussed the Iraqi debt file to Iran, as well as informed the Iranian side of the results of the Iraqi-American strategic dialogue that led to the redeployment of 2,700 American advisors outside Iraq out of 5,200 advisors who were working within the international coalition forces.
On the other hand, the Iranian government spokesman, Ali Rabiei, said that Iran condemns any adventure in Iraq, and that one of its most important priorities is maintaining stability and security in Iraq.
Rabiei added, in his weekly press conference, that Washington and its allies bear responsibility for any acts of sabotage or an increase in tension in the region.
Reduce stress
The media office of the Iraqi President, Barham Salih, said that he stressed, during his meeting with the representative of the United Nations Secretary-General in Iraq, Hennes Plasschaert, the need to reduce tensions in the region.
The Iraqi president referred to Iraq's commitment to distancing themselves from conflicts, adding that he discussed with Plasschaert the file of the upcoming parliamentary elections, and the need to create appropriate security conditions to hold them away from the power of weapons.
A statement by the Iraqi presidency indicated that the two sides emphasized the need to strengthen the authority of the state and the security services.