Withdrawal of US forces from Iraq will promote regional security: Iran defense chief

Iran’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami says the pullout of American troops from Iraq under a law adopted by the parliament of the Arab country will contribute to the establishment of peace and security of Iraq and the whole region.

“The withdrawal of American forces from Iraq within the framework of the wise legislation approved by this country’s parliament will help the establishment and improvement of security and stability in Iraq and the region,” Hatami said in a Tuesday meeting with Iraqi National Security Council (INSC) Advisor Qasim al-Araji in Tehran.

He slammed as an “unforgivable crime” the US military’s assassination of senior Iranian and Iraqi anti-terror commanders, General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), along with Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy head of Iraq’s Hashd al-Sha’abi, and their companions

The expulsion of the American troops from Iraq is a “legitimate right of the Iraqi people,” the defense chief said.

Anti-US sentiment has been running high in Iraq since the assassination of General Soleimani, Muhandis and their companions in a US strike targeting their vehicle outside Baghdad International Airport on January 3, 2020.

The cowardly act of terror was carried out under the direction of former US president Donald Trump.