News On Iran & Its NeighboursIraqIraqi VP blasts US-Iran talks

Iraqi VP blasts US-Iran talks

-

AP: Iraq’s Sunni vice president spoke out Sunday against the upcoming U.S.-Iran talks on the situation in his country, saying the dialogue was “damaging to Iraq’s sovereignty.” Associated Press

By JAMAL HALABY

Associated Press Writer

SOUTHERN SHUNEH, Jordan (AP) – Iraq’s Sunni vice president spoke out Sunday against the upcoming U.S.-Iran talks on the situation in his country, saying the dialogue was “damaging to Iraq’s sovereignty.”

Iraq’s Shiite and Kurdish-dominated government has been pressing for those talks, due to take place on May 28 in Baghdad to help appease spiraling violence in Iraq. But the comments by Tariq al-Hashemi, a leader of the main Sunni bloc in parliament, reflected wide differences among the country’s religious and ethnic groups on the role of Shiite-dominated Iran.

“It’s not good to encourage anybody to talk on behalf of the Iraqi people on their internal and national affairs,” al-Hashemi told reporters on the last day of an international conference held by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum.

Al-Hashemi said he would have preferred that the subject of Iraq’s stability was “tackled by Iraqis themselves.”

“This is really damaging to Iraq’s sovereignty,” he said.

The vice president said he would make sure Iraqis were “aware of the agenda,” and “consulted on whatever resolution and agreement” was reached during the bilateral meetings between the U.S. and Iran.

Both Iranian and American officials have said that the May 28 talks between the two countries’ ambassadors will be limited to the security situation in Baghdad and will not delve into the diplomatic deadlock over Iran’s nuclear program.

Iran and the U.S. have not had public bilateral meetings since Washington broke off relations with Tehran over the 1979 hostage crisis. Previous encounters have been at multilateral gatherings. The two countries held talks under U.N. auspices between 2001 and 2003 regarding Afghanistan.

The United States has accused Shiite-ruled Iran of helping train and arm Shiite militias and some Sunni insurgent groups in Iraq. It has specifically accused Iran of helping insurgents obtain explosively formed penetrators -sophisticated bombs that are capable of piercing armored vehicles.

The three-day World Economic Forum brought together some 1,000 businessmen and politicians who focused on ways to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

But Iran’s growing influence in the region also figured high at the conference, dominated by Washington’s Arab allies who ostracized the Iranian delegation.

On Saturday, the head of the Iranian delegation, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, found himself staunchly defending his country and lashing out at its enemies – the United States and Israel – saying they were the real cause behind the Mideast’s conflicts.

“Iran was always part of the solution to the crisis in the region. We have been in contact with governments in Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan,” he said during one panel that included Afghanistan’s president and a member of the Saudi royal family.

He said Iran planned to tell the United States during the upcoming Baghdad meeting that its policies in Iraq were “wrong” and have led to failure.

“And we hope that a real and a strong political will appear in the other side to change the policies,” Mottaki said in a second panel appearance.

—-

On the Net:

www.weforum.org/middleeast

Latest news

 Statistics show that New Year accidents’ deaths in Iran reached 585

Ahmad Shirani, the head of the Information and Traffic Control Center of the Iranian regime’s police, announced that the...

Land Subsidence in Critical Conditions in Isfahan

Mehdi Toghyani, a member of the Iranian regime’s Majlis (parliament), pointed to the occurrence of land subsidence in various...

Iran’s Actual Inflation Rate Higher Than Official Stats

The state-run Donya-e-eqtesad newspaper, in a report analyzing the "general sentiment" regarding inflation in 2023, has stated that households...

Iranian Workers’ Monthly $136 Wages Can’t Cover $500 Expenses

The lives of a significant portion of the Iranian population are marked by uncertainty, largely because the Iranian economy...

Iranian Nurses Earn Twice Their Wages in Ride-Hailing Services

Reza Aryanpour, a member of the regime’s Majlis (parliament) Health and Treatment Commission, highlighted the growing trend of nurses...

Iran: Unprecedented Record of 152 Million Liters of Gasoline Consumption Per Day

On March 19, Iran set a new historical record in gasoline consumption with 152 million liters consumed in one...

Must read

FIFA to lift ban on Iran

Reuters: World soccer's ruling body FIFA has decided to...

25 people killed in Iran bus crash

Iran Focus: Tehran, Iran, May 26 – At least...

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you