Iran: US pressure won't affect Iraq-Iran ties
Shafaq News- Tehran
US pressure will not affect relations between the Iraqi and Iranian peoples, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei told a press conference on Monday, describing the two countries as permanent neighbors "destined to live side by side."
“Iraqis would not forget that when they faced harsh sanctions from the United Nations and regional states, Iran stood by them as a sincere ally and disregarded those sanctions and pressures,” he said, expressing confidence that shared interests, pursued through dialogue between Iran, Iraq and other neighbors, would ultimately prevail over any external pressure or threats.
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Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said earlier that the United States had formally asked Iraq to close all but two of its border crossings with Iran, a position that came after Baghdad closed the Al-Sheeb border crossing with Iran.
Saeed Jalili, the Supreme Leader's representative on Iran's Supreme National Security Council, also criticized US policy toward Baghdad. Washington, he said, entered Iraq on the pretext of toppling Saddam Hussein yet still requires Iraqi oil revenues to go first to the US Treasury, which then decides how much Iraq may use.
