US has no right to ‘monitor’ Iran from Iraq: President

BAGHDAD (Agencies): Iraqi President Barham Salih on Monday said U.S. forces deployed in his country did not have the right to “monitor” next-door Iran, urging Washington to “clarify” the mandate of U.S. troops still in Iraq.

Salih made the remarks in response to a Sunday statement by U.S. President Donald Trump in which he told CBS’ Face the Nation: “We spent a fortune on building this incredible base; we might as well keep it.”

Trump was referring to western Iraq’s Ayn al-Asad military airbase, which he visited last December.

“One of the reasons I want to keep it [i.e., the airbase] is because I want to be looking a little bit at Iran because Iran is a real problem,” the U.S. president said.

Addressing a forum in Baghdad on Monday, Salih responded by saying that U.S. forces currently deployed in Iraq “have no right to do anything other than what is laid out in the signed [security] agreement”.

“Iraq does not want to be an axis of conflict between… states,” he said. “We are therefore awaiting clarification from Washington regarding the number of U.S. troops [in Iraq] and their mission.”

Baghdad, he added, is seeking improved ties with its neighbors, including Iran.

Iraqi Deputy Parliament Speaker Hassan Karim al-Kaabi on Sunday likewise criticized Trump’s remarks, saying, “Parliament will work to enact a law that includes the termination of the security agreement with the U.S.”