Iraq rejects U.S. comment to urge Iran to respect Iraqi sovereignty

Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-04 04:48:47|Editor: Mu Xuequan
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BAGHDAD, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Foreign Ministry on Saturday rejected the U.S. comment which urged neighboring Iran to respect the sovereignty of Iraq.

The ministry's reaction came after the U.S. embassy in Baghdad retweeted earlier comments by the U.S. State Department which said that "the (Iranian) regime must respect the sovereignty of the Iraqi government and permit the disarming, demobilization, and reintegration of Shiite militias."

The U.S. embassy's tweet came as part of a series of comments during the past days which aimed at drawing paths for the Iranian government to act if it wants to avoid the Nov. 5 deadline of U.S. sanctions on Iran.

Iraqi Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Mahjoub said that the tweet of the U.S. embassy "goes beyond diplomatic norms and mutual respect for the sovereignty of states."

"Iraq rejects interference in its internal issues, especially issues of internal security reform and the status of Iraqi security forces," Mahjoub added.

Iraq is looking forward that the U.S. embassy will delete those comments which are "inconsistent with international norms and avoid their recurrence in the future," the ministry statement added.

Earlier, the U.S. administration said it will snap back sanctions on Iran that had been lifted under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

A statement by the White House on Friday said that the sanctions, which will fully take effect on Nov. 5, would be "the toughest" and "unprecedented," targeting many of the country's "critical sectors" including energy, shipping, shipbuilding and finance.

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