Iran’s Zarif Hits Back at US’s Tillerson
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif slammed US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson for his recent remarks against the Islamic Republic and described Washington’s foreign policy as “shameful”.
“Exactly what country is it that Iraqis who rose up to defend their homes against ISIS return to?” Zarif asked on his Twitter account late on Sunday.
“Shameful US FP (foreign policy), dictated by petrodollars,” the Iranian top diplomat added in his tweet.
Tillerson said on Sunday it was time for Iranian-backed militias and their Iranian advisers who helped Iraq defeat Daesh (ISIS or ISIL) to “go home”, after a rare joint meeting with the leaders of Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
In recent years, Iraq has faced the growing threat of terrorism, mainly posed by the Daesh terrorist group.
Daesh militants made swift advances in much of northern and western Iraq over the summer of 2014, after capturing large swaths of northern Syria.
However, a combination of concentrated attacks by the Iraqi military and the volunteer forces, who rushed to take arms after top Iraqi cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani issued a fatwa calling for the fight against the militants, have blunted the edge of Daesh offensive.
Amid tensions in Iraq, Iran is known as the first country to help the Arab country and has always voiced support for Iraq’s solidarity and prosperity.