Iraq Not to Support Any Decision against Iran: Envoy
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Baghdad does not support any decision against Tehran, Iraqi Ambassador to Iran Nasir Abdul Mohsen Abdullah, referring to a recent US attempt to re-establish a team of experts within the UN to monitor sanctions on Iran.
“Iraq has been fundamentally against the proposal at the United Nations,” Abdullah said in an interview with IRNA on Saturday.
On Thursday, the outgoing administration of US President Donald Trump voted against the UN’s budget of $3.231 billion for 2021, citing disagreements on Israel and Iran.
Only Israel sided with the US, as the other 168 nations voted in favor of the annual budget that is traditionally approved by consensus.
With regard to Iran, the US was unhappy due to the lack of support for its attempt to re-establish a team of experts within the UN to monitor sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
The Iraqi ambassador said Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has sent a message to Iran to underline that Iraq does not support any decision against the Islamic Republic.
“Iran is a friendly and brotherly neighboring country and we have close relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Abdullah said. “Iraq’s strict policy has always been to oppose any decision or action against all its neighbors, especially the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
The US, under Trump, withdrew from a multilateral agreement on Iran’s nuclear program in May 2018 and unilaterally slapped harsh economic sanctions on Tehran under what it called the “maximum pressure” policy.
Since its withdrawal from the deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Washington has been threatening other countries to cut trade with Iran or face punishments.
The other signatories of the nuclear deal – namely Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany – have opposed Washington’s coercive measures, saying there is no other viable alternative to the 2015 nuclear agreement.
