Envoy:

Iraq to Support Iran’s Non-Aggression Pact Initiative

TEHRAN (defapress) – Iraq will support any initiative that will de-escalate tensions in the Persian Gulf, the Iraqi ambassador to Russia said on Tuesday after the Iranian top diplomat proposed signing a regional non-aggression pact.

News ID: 77588

Date: 29 May 2019 - 13:10

"We support all peace efforts. We want stability. Iraq's government views all pacts in the light of its own and regional interests,” Haidar Mansour Hadi said.

“Any deal that benefits all will certainly have Iraq's backing,” the Iraqi diplomat added, according to Urdu Point.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif made the proposal during a trip to Iraq last Sunday.

His Iraqi counterpart, Mohamed Ali Alhakim, in turn, suggested that Baghdad mediate the crisis between the Islamic Republic and the United States.

The remarks came against the backdrop of increased tensions between Iran and the US with Washington imposing new sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

The US has ratcheted up pressure on Iran since last year after withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Since then, the administration of US President Donald Trump is trying to reduce Iran’s oil exports to “zero,” and has sent an aircraft carrier strike group, a bomber squad, an amphibious assault ship, and a Patriot missile battery to the Middle East to try to stack up pressure on Tehran.

Iranian officials, however, have dismissed such moves as psychological warfare, saying the country has its own ways of circumventing the American bans and selling crude oil.

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