Baghdad angered by Trump’s words on Iran role in neighboring Iraq

Iraq has roundly rejected US President Donald Trump’s recent remarks that Iran is “taking over” the neighboring Arab country.

Trump had tweeted on Wednesday that “Iran is rapidly taking over more and more of Iraq,” prompting a harsh reaction by Sa’ad al-Hadithi, the spokesman for Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s office, Iraq’s private satellite channel al-Sharqiya reported.

“Iraq is an independent country, and not influenced by any other state,” Hadithi said in a statement.

When taking decisions, Iraq acts freely and independently, said the Iraqi official, adding that the country’s territorial integrity was respectable.

The statement further said the Iraqi government brooks no invasive or interventionist measure against the Arab state by any other country.

“We have reciprocal relations and interests with many other world and neighboring countries. These relations, however, have not been shaped based on negligence for Iraq’s territorial integrity and independence in decision making,” the official added.

Iran was among the first countries that rushed to Iraq’s help when the Daesh terror group in 2014 unleashed a campaign of death and destruction in the northern and western parts of the neighboring Arab state.