Ammar Hakim Voices Opposition to Religiously-Divided Federal Iraq

Head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq Ammar al-Hakim underlined his support for a federal government in Iraq that supports the Arab country’s territorial integrity, but not on the basis of religious subdivisions.

“Federalization of Iraq on the basis of religious divisions has become a pressure leverage for some religious groups,” Hakim told reporters in Tehran on Sunday.

Hakim, however, reiterated that he agrees with the creation of a Federal state in Iraq based on administrative or geographical divisions.

The head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq also pointed to his meeting with Supreme Leader’s Senior Advisor Ali Akbar Velayati earlier today, and said, “We discussed bilateral ties as well as common foreign threats in this meeting.”

Velayati and Hakim discussed bilateral and regional developments in their meeting in Tehran earlier today. The two also explored avenues for bolstering and reinvigorating mutual cooperation.

Iran and Iraq have enjoyed growing ties ever since the overthrow of the former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, during the 2003 US invasion of the Muslim country.

The federal government of Iraq is defined under the current Constitution as an Islamic, democratic, federal parliamentary republic. The federal government is composed of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, as well as numerous independent commissions.