A senior Iranian lawmaker has warned of a plot by the West to wage a sectarian war in Iraq.

�The hegemonic system (West), led by the Americans, are trying to turn Iraq into a battlefield of religions,� said the First Vice-Speaker of Iran�s Majlis (Parliament), Mohammad Hassan Aboutorabi-Fard on Monday.

�The hegemonic system tries to fan the flames of discord among Muslims" over its fear of confrontation with them, he said, adding that the West is also seeking the establishment of a safe haven for Israel.

The senior legislator also noted that the Americans are deeply fearful of the Muslim nations� resistance against the Israeli regime and are thus attempting to create rifts among Muslims in order to undermine their influence and power.

Aboutorabi-Fard added that over the past decades, the world has been witnessing a growing popularity of Islam and the spread of Islamic values.

A draft of the US annual defense bill, which was released on April 27 by the House Armed Services Committee, urges the US government to recognize separate Kurdish and Sunni states and provide them with at least 25 percent of the USD-715-million aid money planned to be given to the Iraqi government to help it fight the ISIL terrorist group.

The draft bill also says the figure could even amount to 60 percent of the money, about USD 429 million.

The bill mandates that �the Kurdish Peshmerga, the Sunni tribal security forces with a national security mission, and the Iraqi Sunni National Guard be deemed a country,� adding that doing so �would allow these security forces to directly receive assistance from the United States.�

Iraqi politicians and clerics are opposed to the idea, saying that only the Iraqi people can decide about the future of their country.

By Press TV