WASHINGTON: The Iraqi Embassy in Washington reiterated on Wednesday Baghdad’s right to independently conclude agreements with any party asserting the country’s full sovereignty despite US criticism.
The embassy said Iraq “has the right to enter into agreements in accordance with its constitution and national laws, in a manner consistent with its supreme interests,”according to Iraqi News Agency (INA).
It emphasized that Iraq’s decisions are rooted in its “independent national will” and that the country “is not subordinate to the policies of any other state.”
The remarks come in the wake of a new security pact signed between Iraq and Iran in Baghdad earlier this week, aimed at tightening coordination along their shared border.
However, US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce commented on the memorandum, saying: “We support genuine Iraqi sovereignty, not legislation that would turn Iraq into a client state of Iran.”
The agreement, reached during the visit of Iranian top security official Ali Larijani, builds on a March 2023 deal to enhance security in Iraq’s Kurdish region, which Tehran accuses of harboring armed opposition groups.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, who oversaw the signing, framed the pact as part of broader cooperation to secure both countries’ frontiers and promote regional stability.
Iraqi officials say the measures are intended to curb cross-border infiltration by Iranian Kurdish groups accused by Tehran of fomenting unrest.
The timing of the agreement underscores the complex balancing act facing Baghdad. While deepening ties with Tehran, the Iraqi government is also under intensifying US pressure to rein in pro-Iran militias.
Iraq defends border security pact with Iran despite US opposition
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Iraq defends border security pact with Iran despite US opposition
- The remarks come in the wake of a new security pact signed between Iraq and Iran in Baghdad
- While deepening ties with Tehran, the Iraqi government is also under intensifying US pressure
Lebanon condemns deadly Israeli strikes on south and east
- Joseph Aoun called the attacks “a blatant act of aggression aimed at thwarting diplomatic efforts”
- A lawmaker from Hezbollah called on Beirut to suspend meetings of a multinational committee tasked with monitoring the truce
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s president on Saturday condemned deadly Israeli attacks on his country carried out a day prior, the latest despite a ceasefire with militant group Hezbollah.
In a statement, Joseph Aoun called the attacks “a blatant act of aggression aimed at thwarting diplomatic efforts” by the United States and other nations to establish stability.
A lawmaker from Hezbollah called on Beirut to suspend meetings of a multinational committee tasked with monitoring the truce.
Washington is one of five members on the committee overseeing the ceasefire implemented in November 2024, with the body scheduled to meet again next week.
Israel has repeatedly bombed Lebanon despite the ceasefire, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah but occasionally also the group’s Palestinian ally Hamas.
The Friday attacks on southern and eastern Lebanon killed 12 people, according to the health ministry, 10 of them in the east of the country.
Israel’s military said it struck “several terrorists of Hezbollah’s missile array in three different command centers in the Baalbek area.”
Hezbollah said a commander was killed in the raids. Its lawmaker Rami Abu Hamdan said on Saturday the group “will not accept the authorities acting as mere political analysts, dismissing these as Israeli strikes we have grown accustomed to before every meeting of the committee.”
He called on Beirut to “suspend the committee’s meetings until the enemy ceases its attacks.”
Hezbollah, while weakened following war with Israel, remains a strong political force in Lebanon represented in parliament.
Lebanon’s government last year committed to disarming the group, with the army saying last month it had completed the first phase of the plan covering the area near the Israeli border.
Israel, which accuses Hezbollah of rearming since the war, has called the Lebanese army’s progress on disarming the militant group insufficient.
