Iranian Sources: Iraqi Foreign Ministry Condemns Ali Yunusi's Remarks

Iranian news sources reported on Wednesday, March 10, that the Iraqi Foreign Ministry expressed "surprise" and "disgust" at remarks attributed to Ali Yunusi, a special assistant to the President of Iran, stating that Iraq will not allow any infringement on its national sovereignty. Meanwhile, Yunusi, in an interview with Al-Alam, affiliated with the Islamic Republic's broadcasting, clarified his previous statements, asserting that Iran is in no way seeking to undermine the territorial integrity and independence of countries, especially Iraq. The special assistant to the Iranian President for ethnic and religious minorities had stated on March 8: "Currently, Iraq is not only our sphere of civilizational influence but also our identity, culture, center, and capital, and this is true for both today and the past." He added: "Because the geography of Iran and Iraq is indivisible, and our culture is inseparable. So we either have to fight each other or unite." On Wednesday, Yunusi elaborated on his earlier comments, saying: "What I said is precisely that in the past, there were great empires known as Iran during the Achaemenid, Sassanid, and Parthian periods, which included the countries of the region; but today, neither the Ottoman Empire will return, nor the Arab Empire; nor is it intended for the Iranian Empire to return; today, what can replace the past empires is the cultural, economic, and political coordination of the countries of the Iranian plateau." However, according to a report on Wednesday from Al-Alam, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry condemned Yunusi's previous remarks, expressing "surprise" and stating that Iraq is a sovereign country governed by Iraqis themselves, maintaining positive relations with neighboring countries, including Iran, and will not allow interference in its internal affairs or any infringement on its national sovereignty. Meanwhile, Fars News Agency reported that the Iraqi Foreign Ministry expressed "disgust" at the "irresponsible" remarks of this Iranian official. According to this news agency, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, the Iraqi Foreign Minister, also emphasized that this country has not allowed and will not allow any government or country to violate its sovereignty. In another part of his interview on Wednesday with Al-Alam, Yunusi stated that the Islamic Republic provides Iraq with "weapons and advice." Iraqi forces have recently launched intense attacks against Islamic State forces in the Tikrit region. Reports indicate that commanders and members of the Quds Force, the external operations branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, are also participating in these operations. Aziz Jaafari, the commander of the IRGC, stated on Wednesday, March 20, that "cleansing areas of Iraq from terrorist groups and ISIS with the help and advice of IRGC military commanders" is one of the achievements of the 1979 Iranian Revolution and added that "the phase of exporting the Islamic Revolution has now entered a new chapter."