IRAN: THERE WILL BE PEACE IN IRAQ WHEN THE UNITED STATES LEAVES

Withdrawal of US forces a prerequisite to peace in Iraq: envoy

Iranian Ambassador to Portugal Mohammad Taheri in Lisbon on Tuesday stressed that the US would have to withdraw its forces from Iraq if peace and tranquility is to be restored to the country.

Speaking to Portugal's national TV in a joint interview with his Iraqi counterpart, Hussein Moalla, Taheri said that foreign forces are the cause of the surging violence and armed attacks in Iraq.

"Foreign forces have come to Iraq not to help bring peace to the country but to gain control of the rich oil and gas resources of the region and highly lucrative sale of weapons to regional states," he said.

He said that Western sources have admitted that the sale of weapons to states in the Middle East by American companies had increased by two times over the past year.

He said the Iraqi government was capable of solving the country's problems and restoring tranquility with the support of the nation as soon as its affairs were delegated to Iraqi officials.

Pointing to last week's visit by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani to Tehran, Taheri noted that "ties between Iran and Iraq have been expanding in all fields over the past two years." "The volume of trade exchanges between two sides currently stands at over USD 1 billion," he added.

He noted that the continued unrest in Iraq was an obstacle to further consolidation of Tehran-Baghdad relations, and expressed hope mutual relations would receive a boost through withdrawal of foreign forces and restoration of peace and stability in Iraq.

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1) Withdrawal of US forces a prerequisite to peace in Iraq: envoy