Barham Salih: The U.S. Did Not Seek Permission from Iraq to Monitor Iran

After Donald Trump stated that the U.S. military presence in Iraq is to monitor Iran, Barham Salih, the President of Iraq, announced that the U.S. President did not seek permission from Iraq for this matter and that the U.S. should not pursue its priorities in this country. According to a Reuters report, Mr. Salih made this statement during a meeting in Baghdad in response to a question regarding Donald Trump's remarks in an interview with CBS. He said, 'American forces in Iraq are present under a bilateral agreement for a special mission to combat terrorism, and it is better for them to focus on that mission.' In the CBS interview on Sunday, Donald Trump emphasized the importance of maintaining the U.S. military presence in Iraq, stating that this way Washington can closely monitor Iran because 'Iran is a real problem.' However, on Monday, the President of Iraq urged the U.S. not to 'burden this country with its issues.' Barham Salih added, 'The U.S. is a great power... but do not pursue your policy priorities here where we live.' He also mentioned that having good relations with Iran and other neighbors is one of Iraq's 'fundamental interests.' With rising tensions between Iran and the United States, both of which are allies of Iraq, the country finds itself in a very difficult position, a situation that has become more pronounced since the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions against Iran. The Obama administration withdrew many U.S. forces from Iraq in 2011, and later in 2014 had to redeploy U.S. troops at the request of the Iraqi government to prevent ISIS forces from advancing towards Baghdad. Baghdad declared victory over ISIS last year, but the U.S. still has over five thousand troops in Iraq, primarily responsible for training the Iraqi military. The U.S. President previously announced the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria, stating that some would be transferred to the U.S. base in Iraq and others would return home.