Iranian top leader urges U.S. forces exit from Iraq

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‍Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday that Iraq should consider the withdrawal of the U.S. forces from the country, Financial Tribune daily reported.

"The presence of American military forces in regional states is to the detriment of these countries and the people in the region, so the Iraqi government needs to take action to urge Americans to pull out their troops from Iraq as soon as possible," said Khamenei during his meeting with visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi.

"If the U.S. forces are entrenched in Iraq, it will become difficult to dislodge them in the long run," he explained.

“The Iraqi government, parliament and current political activists in the country are undesirable for the Americans ... and they are plotting to remove them from Iraqi politics,” Khamenei was quoted as saying by Iran's state media.

Abdul Mahdi arrived in Iran's capital Tehran on Saturday to discuss bilateral ties with the Iranian officials.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (4th L) meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi (4th R) in the Iranian capital Tehran, April 6, 2019. /VCG Photo

The Iraqi prime minister praised Iran for standing by Iraq in hard times including during the battle against the terrorist groups.

In addition, the two sides have seen "massive potentialities" for cooperation in areas like oil, gas, refining and petrochemicals grounds.

"Iran is ready to offer its capabilities to the Iraqi oil industry," Iranian Minister of Petroleum Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said after meeting with Iraqi Minister of Oil Thamir al-Ghadban.

According to Iran's major media outlet Press TV, air defense is another area the two sides look to work upon. Iran's top military commander Mohammad Baqeri said his country and its neighbor hope to fend off challenges facing their respective air spaces together.

Source(s): Reuters ,Xinhua News Agency