The US assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani was a key talking point during Wednesday’s talks.
Tehran, Iran – Iraq’s foreign minister Fuad Hussein has held high-level talks with Iranian officials with justice for the assassination of America on Iran’s top general as a top topic of debate.
Iran calls on the international police force to arrest former US President Donald Trump and 47 other American officials who were named as part of the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani last year in a drone attack USA near Baghdad airport.
Hussein and his delegation met with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who also welcomed the creation of a joint economic cooperation commission while considering developing economic and political ties.
According to the foreign ministry, Zarif said he hopes the two countries could implement agreements on banking, industrialization, border markets, transit, and Iraq’s debt to Iran that have been terminated. when Iranian President Hassan Rouhani traveled to Iraq in March 2019.
Iran’s ties with Soleimani’s assassination in Iraq and the harsh US sanctions imposed in 2018 have had an impact on Iran after Trump abandoned the 2015 Iran nuclear deal with powers the world.
Hussein’s trip to Tehran is his first since U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration took power and promised to restore the nuclear deal.
Hussein led a delegation to Iran at the end of September 2020, which agreed to create a joint economic commission and promote bilateral relations.
‘Act of terrorism’
Zarif also welcomed Iraq’s efforts to legally prosecute the assassination of Soleimani who was assassinated by a Trump-ordered drone attack in January 2020. Details of these moves by Baghdad were not provided.
“Ending the presence of American troops in the region is the best response to this act of terrorism,” the foreign minister said.
Hussein told Zarif that Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi is aiming to develop ties with Iran.
The Iraqi diplomat and his delegation met with Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Iranian National Security Council.
Shamkhani also said that Hussein Iran intends to continue seeking justice for Soleimani’s death and wants all previous agreements with Iraq to be fully implemented.
The chief security officer also pointed out that security and stability in the neighboring countries are interconnected.
“The rise and stability of the Iraqi government ‘s strength and governance lies in order to pass and enforce the law to overcome the country’ s political, economic and security challenges,” he said, according to Tasnim ‘s semi – official news.
Political instability has stalled Iraq in recent years, and Baghdad’s tragedy recently hit in late January when a suicide bombing killed a couple of dozen in an ISIL (ISIS) attack.
Hussein also met with Rouhani on Wednesday, who told him he wants to boost Iran-Iraq trade to the previously set target of $ 20bn a year.
Rouhani also said Iran wants to quickly resolve operational issues around a railway line connecting Iran’s Shalamche to Basra Iraq as it sees it as a “full economic and commercial” project that also strengthens the country’s transport lines. two countries.
The president cited the assassination of Soleimani, who was with Iraqi leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis at the time, as “an example of the most shameful foreign intervention in Iraqi affairs carried out in the form of state terrorism and heroism. focus of winning influence on ISIS ”.
Rouhani has told FM Iraq that it wants to boost Iran-Iraq trade to its previously set target of $ 20bn a year [Handout]
Rouhani expressed hope that Biden’s administration will come to realize that he will not benefit from his presence in the region and will leave.
Iraq’s foreign minister told the president that his visit to Baghdad was “historic” and set out the reasons for deepening bilateral ties between the two countries that had been fighting a deadly eight-year war in the United States. 1980s when Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq.
“Based on agreements between the two countries’ officials, business and ties are pursued across a number of economic and trade areas as Iraq seeks to expand relations with Iran,” the president’s website said.