Iraq to Stand by Iran in Sanctions Era: FM Hakim
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammad al-Hakim said his country would stand by the Iranian nation and government in the era of US sanctions against Tehran.
Iraq stands with Iran and is willing to act as an intermediary between its neighbor and the United States, Hakim said on Saturday speaking in a press conference with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in Baghdad.
He added that Baghdad does not believe an "economic blockade" by the US could be fruitful, according to Reuters.
Zarif, for his part, condemned the US sanctions and said Tehran would strongly defend itself against any military or economic aggression and called on Europe to do more to preserve the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.
In May 2018, the US president pulled his country out of the JCPOA, which was achieved in 2015 after years of negotiations among Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).
Ever since, the EU has failed to make good on its promise to save the nuclear deal and facilitate Iran’s economic trade with the international community.
The Iranian minister also said that the Islamic Republic wanted to build balanced relations with its Persian Gulf Arab neighbors and that it had proposed signing a non-aggression pact with them.
