Washington: Soleimani in Baghdad to choose the next Iraqi Prime Minister

Shafaq News / U.S. Assistant Secretary of State ,David Schenker emphasized his country's support for Iraqi demonstrators calling on the government to reform and fight corruption, and he did not rule out the inclusion of other officials on the U.S. sanctions list, saying "we are conducting a continuous review" on the list.

Schenker said in an interview with Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath TV channels that the commander of Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Qassem Soleimani, "has a record of violating Iraqi sovereignty. He is in Baghdad to choose the next Iraqi prime minister, and this is rejected."

He stressed that "Soleimani violates the travel ban imposed by the Security Council." He also made it clear that Washington does not have the powers to arrest Soleimani in Iraq. He added, "The Iraqi government can arrest Qasim Soleimani, according to a Security Council resolution."

Schenker denied any American interference in Iraqi or Lebanese affairs, saying, "We do not interfere in the affairs of Iraq or Lebanon, nor do we decide who the next prime minister is. And we do not establish militias or terrorist organizations in Iraq. Iran is the one that does this."

As for protesters burning the Iranian consulate in Najaf, Schenker said, "We do not support burning consulates, but the Iraqi people know who is the cause of the problem they are facing, so they burned the consulate."

 It is should be noted that the United States imposed sanctions on three Iraqis, Qais al-Khazali, Laith al-Khazali and Hussein Aziz al-Lami, all of whom are faction leaders within the Popular Mobilization Forces( PMF )close to Iran.

The demonstrators in Baghdad, and the central and southern governorates of Iraq, continue joining the protesters, in the northern and western cities, their protests for the third consecutive month in the rain, and the recent cold wave, despite the resignation of Prime Minister ,Adel Abdul-Mahdi, demanding the dissolution of parliament, and the prosecution of those responsible for killing the protesters as well as early elections.

Iraq is witnessing since the beginning of last October, large protests to demand an improvement in living conditions, fighting corruption, early elections, and killing at least 400 people since the largest wave of protests in the country since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.