Today (Wednesday), US representative in Iraq affairs, Tom Barak, emphasized: Iraq has the “magic key” to solve regional crises and manage dialogue with Iran, and Washington encourages Baghdad to strengthen trade relations and religious exchanges with Tehran, instead of adopting a hostile position.
These statements are made while the US, in addition to the issue of weapons, is also putting pressure on Tehran through Iraq’s border crossings with Iran.
In this regard, Fouad Hossein revealed that the US Treasury Department, within the framework of the policy of intensifying economic pressure on Tehran, asked Baghdad to keep open only 2 crossings and close the rest, but the implementation of this request is difficult due to the numerous official and unofficial crossings and the consequences of such an action on the Iraqi economy.
According to Shafaq News, Barak said during a dialogue meeting hosted by “Chatham House” think tank in London: “The United States wants to learn from the lessons of the past and recognize the importance of the rule of law and democracy.”
He added: “We must review what we have done in Iraq in 23 years. “We were guests of this country and many times we were bad guests and we were not hosts.”
The American representative continued: “Iraq has a special and difficult situation due to its religious commonalities and wide borders with Iran; An issue that necessitates the adoption of a special policy towards both countries.”
Referring to Washington’s position regarding the relations between Baghdad and Tehran, he claimed: “Our position is not to turn Iraq into an enemy of Iran, but to empower it to be the magic key to open the doors of solutions and conduct dialogues that the United States cannot direct directly.”
Barak said about the withdrawal of the international anti-ISIS coalition from Iraq under the orders of the United States: “Our position was clear from the beginning; “The international coalition will withdraw from Iraq and we have also left this country as guests, but we will remain as a permanent partner and we will not abandon Iraq.”
Continuing his bold stance, he said: “Washington will not stay in Iraq forever to directly guarantee security and stability, but rather seeks to support the unity of Iraq, the stability of this country and the rule of law in it, so that Iraq can defend itself in a region that is witnessing continuous changes.”
Barak also pointed to the need to expand regional cooperation and emphasized the creation of a “New Silk Road” through Iraq.
In another part of his statement, he said: “We are witnessing democracy and the rule of law in Iraq, despite the presence of Judge Faiq Zidan and Iraqi leaders.”
The American representative also emphasized: “We don’t want to be in the position of the other party in front of Baghdad, or Baghdad will also be in front of us.”
