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Iraqi speaker says Iran was 1st country to propose security pact

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Riyadh, June 6, IRNA
Iraq-Security Pact-Iran
Saudi Arabia's Al-Riyadh daily quoted Iraqi parliament speaker as saying Iran was first country that proposed signing a security pact with Iraq during President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's historic state visit.

Mahmoud Al-Mash'hadani added, "We accepted the initiative on condition that Iran would form a coalition with Turkey for the purpose, but neither Iran and Turkey, nor other Arab and non-Arab countries have due to the existence of certain conditions in those countries and Iraq, not taken any effective step in that respect.

The Saudi daily further quoted al-Mash'hadani as saying that not only the Iraqi Shi'as, but also the Iraqi Sunnis, too, would not yield to signing a long term security pact with the United States if such strong neighbors as Iran and Turkey would form a coalition for the purpose.

According to the report, the Iraqi Parliament Speaker pointed out that no vote taking for the US proposed security pact has still taken place, adding, "Iraq is a country with huge oil reserves and in order to provide security for its national wealth and independence it is in need of a strong strategic alliance."

He said, "Such an alliance would be particularly needed to defend the country's political independence in case of enemies' invasions, particularly for a country whose security and defense structures have totally collapsed a number of times in recent past."

He emphasized, "If the Arab and non-Arab regional countries, such as Turkey and Iran, would be capable of guaranteeing such a strategic defensive coverage Baghdad Government would feel no necessity for signing this US proposed security pact."

The Iraqi Parliament speaker further reiterated, "If the Iraqi Sunni and Shi'a communities would reach compromise over the matter, the shared presence of the Iranian and Turkish armed forces, both of which have very strong armies, would be quite justifiable." He all the same pointed out that if the Arab countries would volunteer to heed the heavy task there would even be no need to taking advantage of the armies of these two non-Arab countries to provide security for Iraq.

Predicting the opposition of the Arab countries with the proposed Iranian-Turkish coalition to ensure security in Iraq, the Iraqi Parliament Speaker said, "In that case we would be obliged to seek other countries' cooperation for the purpose."

In response to a question whether sighing such a security pact would pose strategic problems for Iraq's neighbors, particularly for Iran, Mash'hadani said, "The matter of prime importance for Iraq under the prevailing conditions is securing its own national interests and security."

He further stressed, "All the same, in efforts aimed at securing Iraq's interests and security we would never forget the need to consult our brothers and neighbors, particularly the other Arab countries."

The Iraqi Parliament Speaker elsewhere in the interview pointed out that the Iranian Embassy in currently among the largest foreign services in Baghdad, under such conditions that no Arab country has an embassy in Baghdad and the US Embassy is the largest.

He ended the interview stressing, "On the day when the Iraqi nation would manage to stand on its own feet and to pay the expenses of its independence there would no longer be any need to the presence of any foreign countries' forces in Iraq, even the Arab countries'."
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