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Iraq won't be attack base: PM
Source: Agencies |
January 4, 2009, Sunday
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IRAQ'S prime minister, who started a visit to Iran yesterday, told Iranian state television his government would not allow Iraq to be used as a base to threaten its neighbors.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told Iran's Arabic news channel on Friday that Iraq "will not let Iraq be a launching ground to threaten any country," Al-Alam said on its Website.
United States forces in Iraq came under Iraqi mandate on January 1, a move Maliki said restored sovereignty nearly six years after the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
Maliki also "emphasized that Iraq would open all pending files with neighboring states and others in order to build sound relations with them," the report said, adding that Iraq would be an "axis for positive relations with Iran."
Iran is embroiled in a row over its nuclear plans with the United States, which has refused to rule out military action if diplomacy fails to end the dispute. Washington and its allies accuse Iran of seeking nuclear weapons, which Tehran denies.
Analysts say any US attack against Iran would most likely involve air strikes rather than any land invasion. Washington used its bases in regional countries to attack Iraq in 2003.
Washington and Tehran have traded accusations about who is responsible for violence in Iraq.
Maliki is expected to meet Iran's top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his two-day visit.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told Iran's Arabic news channel on Friday that Iraq "will not let Iraq be a launching ground to threaten any country," Al-Alam said on its Website.
United States forces in Iraq came under Iraqi mandate on January 1, a move Maliki said restored sovereignty nearly six years after the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
Maliki also "emphasized that Iraq would open all pending files with neighboring states and others in order to build sound relations with them," the report said, adding that Iraq would be an "axis for positive relations with Iran."
Iran is embroiled in a row over its nuclear plans with the United States, which has refused to rule out military action if diplomacy fails to end the dispute. Washington and its allies accuse Iran of seeking nuclear weapons, which Tehran denies.
Analysts say any US attack against Iran would most likely involve air strikes rather than any land invasion. Washington used its bases in regional countries to attack Iraq in 2003.
Washington and Tehran have traded accusations about who is responsible for violence in Iraq.
Maliki is expected to meet Iran's top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his two-day visit.
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