Khamenei: Ensure American Forces Leave Iraq as Soon as Possible

A few days after the Iraqi President's remarks about a public consensus on the presence of American forces in the country, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic called for the 'sooner' withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. According to the IRNA news agency, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday during a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi, 'You must ensure that the Americans withdraw their military from Iraq as soon as possible because in every country where they have had a long military presence, the process of expelling them becomes problematic.' He emphasized that 'the goal of the U.S. presence in Iraq goes beyond mere military presence' and 'they are seeking long-term interests and the establishment of a government similar to the military governments at the beginning of the occupation of Iraq.' Khamenei's remarks come at a time when Barham Salih, the President of Iraq, emphasized on Friday, April 9, the existence of a 'public consensus' regarding the presence of American forces in the country. Previously, the Associated Press reported that Iran-backed representatives in the Iraqi parliament are set to bring a bill for the complete withdrawal of the U.S. from their country to the floor. In mid-February 2019, Donald Trump, the U.S. President, stated that one reason for the continued presence of American troops in Iraq is 'to keep an eye on Iran,' as this country 'is a real problem.' The next day, Barham Salih responded to Trump's remarks by stating that the U.S. President 'did not seek permission from Iraq for this matter and the U.S. should not pursue its priorities in this country.' He emphasized that American forces in Iraq 'are present within the framework of a bilateral agreement for a special mission to combat terrorism and should focus on that mission.' Currently, more than five thousand American troops are present in Iraq, who, according to an official agreement, are supposed to provide advice and assistance to Iraqi forces in the fight against the group known as the 'Islamic State' or ISIS. Ayatollah Khamenei, in another part of his speech, said, 'The Iraqi government and parliament and the current political activists in this country are undesirable for the Americans, and for this reason, they are designing to remove this group from the political scene in Iraq.' He emphasized that 'the verbal statements of the Americans and Saudis about Iraq differ from their internal intentions.' Adel Abdul-Mahdi, despite his background in Pan-Arabism and membership in the Iraqi Communist Party, later adopted an Islamist viewpoint and, alongside Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi and Mohammad Baqir Hakim, was one of the founders of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq. Abdul-Mahdi's trip to Tehran came a few days after a visit by a high-ranking Saudi delegation to Baghdad. During the Saudi political-economic delegation's visit to Baghdad, the Saudi king allocated one billion dollars for the construction of a sports complex in Iraq. It seems that with the return of U.S. sanctions against Iran, Iraq has become one of the key countries in financial and trade exchanges with Iran. Meanwhile, Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, expressed hope that trade volume between the two countries would reach 20 billion dollars. Iranian officials have previously stated that they are trying to use Iraq's currency instead of the dollar in transactions. After the return of all U.S. sanctions against Iran, the U.S. government, in addition to the temporary exemptions granted to eight countries that purchase Iranian oil, also temporarily allowed Iraq to continue buying electricity from Iran. Iraq currently imports about 30 percent of its electricity needs, mainly for consumption in Basra, from Iran, and the U.S. government extended Iraq's exemption in this regard for another three months about two weeks ago. Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, met and discussed with officials of that country during his visit to Iraq last month.