RT - The Supreme Leader of Iran has urged the Iraqi PM to expel US �occupational forces,� as Washington keeps seeking excuses to hold ground there after a presence of 16 devastating years and hundreds of thousands of lives lost.

�America�s objective in Iraq is beyond sheer military presence... they are after long-term presence and interests and establishing a government like the military governments that were formed following the occupation of Iraq,� Ayatollah Khamenei told Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi in Tehran. �The Iraqi government should do something [to ensure] that American military troops will leave Iraq as soon as possible.�

While Iraqi lawmakers are reportedly discussing a bill that would call for the full withdrawal of American soldiers, Washington refuses to leave the country, claiming that without its presence the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) terrorist group would inevitably reemerge � and that Iraq is a crucial US asset for �monitoring� Iran.

Ayatollah Khamenei warned the Iraqi PM to watch out for Washington�s true aims. �The US and Saudi rhetoric about Iraq are different from their real intentions,� he said.

�They funneled money, weapons and equipment to Daesh [IS] at a time that [the terrorists] had occupied Mosul and, now that Iraq has overcome Daesh, they are speaking friendly words,� the Iranian leader claimed.

With the rise of IS, the US redeployed its forces to Iraq, after it �almost� withdrew troops in 2011. For now Washington intends to keep roughly 5,200 service personnel in Iraq indefinitely, as long as the threats of terrorism and, of course, of Iran remain.