Iran’s Help for Iraq Coordinated only with Baghdad: Diplomat
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – An Iranian deputy foreign minister reiterated that the country assists its western neighbor in countering security threats in close cooperation with the Baghdad government, rejecting reports on coordination between Iran and the US for action in Iraq.
Speaking to the Guardian in London, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Asian and Pacific Affairs Ebrahim Rahimpour affirmed that the Islamic Republic have not had any coordination with the US in helping Iraq overcome the security challenges.
“We have coordinated only with the Iraqi government,” he underlined, noting that Iran continues backing the Arab nation for “the defense of the interests of our friends in Iraq”.
The diplomat, however, stressed that Iran supports Iraq only when the Arab country makes such a request.
“We are taking our security actions at the request of the Iraqi government. On the other hand, we are assisting the Kurds in the north, our friends over there, and although there is some differentiation between the Kurdish perspective and the Iraqi government, we can make an arrangement according to both their interests,” he said.
The deputy minister once again underlined that Iran’s assistance to Iraq is confined to consultation and advisory help.
“This is only an advisory presence. There is no need to send Iranian troops to Iraq. There are sufficient Iraqi and Kurdish troops there,” Rahimpour said.
He further made it clear that Iran will never allow the situation in Iraq to be aggravated and turn into a crisis like the one in Syria.
“We will not allow conditions in Iraq to descend to the level of Syria, which has been created by foreign players. And certainly our assistance (to Iraq) is stronger than our assistance to Syria, because they are nearer to us,” he explained.