Zarif: Pompeo Has No Right to Interfere in Iran-Iraq Relations

Iran's Foreign Minister responded to his American counterpart's remarks about the need to reduce Iran's 'influence' in Iraq, stating that Mike Pompeo has no right to 'interfere' in the bilateral relations between Tehran and Baghdad, emphasizing that the history of relations between the two countries predates the formation of the United States. Mohammad Javad Zarif recently visited Iraq, meeting with numerous current and former Iraqi officials. His visit came five days after Pompeo's trip to the country. Before traveling to Iraq and meeting with several Iraqi officials, including the Speaker of the Parliament, Pompeo had stated in a speech in Cairo that 'we have helped Iraq reduce Iranian influence, and this process will continue.' During his unexpected visit to Iraq, he told Iraqi officials that 'confronting Iran is a real and important issue.' He had previously indicated that the roots of challenges regarding the extremism of Yemen's Houthis, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Shiite militias in Iraq and Syria, which are supported by Iran, stem from 'the revolutionary nature of the Iranian government and their actions abroad.' He referred to these actions as the 'five capitals strategy,' seemingly implying Iran's influence in four regional countries plus its governance over Tehran. In response, Zarif stated, 'He has no right to interfere in Iran and Iraq's issues. Iran and Iraq had relations before the United States was formed, and this relationship continues now.' He also described the Iran-Iraq relationship as 'non-artificial' and added that there was no need for his visit to be 'secretive,' unlike some American officials' trips to the country. The Iranian Foreign Minister considered the future of economic and political relations between Tehran and Baghdad as 'very bright' and remarked that his trip, which he described as 'one of the longest working trips I've had, was very good, and we had acceptable meetings with Iraqi officials.' A day after Pompeo's visit to Iraq, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, Iran's Oil Minister, also traveled to Iraq, but according to Thamer Ghadhban, Iraq's Oil Minister, negotiations for the joint development of border fields did not yield results. Iran and Iraq had previously agreed that part of the oil from the Kirkuk region would be delivered to Iran, and in return, Iran would supply oil to Iraq in the Persian Gulf, but U.S. sanctions have rendered this agreement void. Iran is also exporting gas to Iraq, and the U.S. has only allowed Iraq to purchase gas from Iran until next spring. The Trump administration has urged the Iraqi government to cut its dependence on gas and electricity imports from Iran, but Iraq's Energy Minister stated that it would take two years to increase domestic gas production and eliminate imports from Iran. Iran and Iraq, both predominantly Shiite Muslim countries in the Middle East, have a long historical relationship, and Iran's influence in Iraq has significantly increased since the fall of Saddam Hussein. According to the Associated Press, efforts to neutralize Iran's relations with political, religious, economic, and military groups in Iraq are not easy and may even pose risks. Recently, Hoshmatollah Falahatpisheh, head of the Iranian Parliament's National Security Commission, warned about the loss of Iran's economic position in Iraq and the potential replacement of Iran by Turkey and Saudi Arabia in that country.