28 Mar 2024
Monday 23 October 2017 - 17:46
Story Code : 280523

Senior Iran official welcomes Saudi-Iraq normalization



Press TV- A senior Iranian officialhas voiced support for normalization of ties between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, but also calledon Riyadh to stop its destructive and unconstructivebehavior" in the region.

The comments by Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, an adviser to Iran's Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, came amid wild speculations about the impact ofIraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's visit to Riyadh, includingon Iran.

Abadi on Sunday took partat the first meeting of the joint Saudi-Iraqi coordination council aimed at enhancing cooperation, that was also attended by US State Secretary Rex Tillerson.

"If relations between Saudi Arabia and Iraq are normalized and Riyadh's destructive and unconstructive behavior is halted, it is a positive development," Abdollahian tweeted, in the first reaction of an Iranian official to the visit.

The landmark meeting appears aimed at boosting Saudi Arabia's clout in Iraq, part of a wider regional battle for influence that extends from Syria to Yemen, the French news agency AFP said.

Abdollahian indicatedthat the Islamic Republic was not worried about rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iraq, saying "the strategic relationship between Tehran and Baghdad is firm and lasting."


[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="550"] Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi arrive for a meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia October 22, 2017. (Photo by Reuters)[/caption]
After attendingthe joint Saudi Arabia-Iraqcouncil meeting on Sunday, Tillerson said, "This event highlights the strength and breadth as well as the great potential of the relations between your countries."

However,history, religion and lots of politics stand in the way.Riyadh has had rocky relations with Baghdad and viewed Iraq's proximity to Iran with enmity.

While Iraqi leaders have repeatedly praised Iran's role in helping the Arab country confront the Takfiri menace, they have accusedSaudi Arabia of supporting terrorists.

Daesh and other Takfirigroups are influenced by Saudi Arabias official radical ideology of Wahhabism, which is known for its lack of tolerance.InMarch, Fox News cited a senior Iraqi intelligence officer as saying that around 30 percent of Daesh terrorists in Iraq wereSaudi nationals.

Back in April, Prime Minister Abadi also said that every Iraqi citizen has a right to believe that Saudi Arabia is a supporter of terrorism."

As for Iran, Abadi and otherIraqi leaders have famously said that Baghdad would have fallen to Daesh if Tehran had not rushed weapons and military advisers in time when the Arab nation's plea for helpfrom the West went unanswered.

Tillerson, however, accused Iran of destabilizing Iraqat a news conference with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeirafter attending themeeting of the Saudi Arabia-Iraq Coordination Council with Saudi King Salman and Abadi.

"We believe this will in some ways counter some of the unproductive influences of Iran inside of Iraq," the US top diplomat said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarifreacted to the remarks. "Unfortunately, the Americans do not want to rectify their viewpoint that Iran is a source of stability and peace as well as a campaigner against terrorism in the region.

The Iranian foreign minister, in South Africa as part of atour of Africa, expressed regret that US allies have been the root cause of instability and crisis in the region.

Daesh launched its campaign of death and destruction in Iraq in 2014, swiftly taking towns and cities in lightning operations as the US and its allies looked on despite having a military presence in the country after years of occupation.

On Monday,Jean-Pierre Chevnement who served as French defense and interior ministers between 1988 and 2000 was quoted as saying thatthe two Persian Gulf wars waged by the US "which destroyed Iraq created Daesh."

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