US troops must go, Iran tells Iraqi PM
Saturday, 11 August 2007
TEHRAN, Aug 10 (AFP): Iran's leaders Thursday told visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki that US troops must leave his country, in talks that reinforced growing bilateral ties and sparked unease in Washington.
Following a renewed warning from President George W. Bush over Tehran's alleged meddling in Iraq, Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei told Maliki the presence of US troops was the biggest obstacle to restoring security.
Leaving behind a political crisis at home, the Shiite premier received a warm welcome from Iran's top leaders, including Khamenei, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and national security chief Ali Larijani.
Maliki was also quoted by Iranian state media as praising Iran's "constructive" role in "fighting terrorism" in Iraq-a statement Bush moved swiftly to contradict.
"If the signal is that Iran is constructive, I will have to have a heart to heart with my friend the prime minister because I do not believe they are," Bush told a White House news conference.
However, Khamenei said in his meeting with Maliki in the Shiite holy city of Mashhad that it was the presence of the US-led forces that was the "biggest misfortune" shadowing Iraq.
"The occupiers claim that if they exit now, Iraq will be destroyed. Whereas if the occupiers leave, all the Iraqi officials will move with full force to solve the people's problems," state television quoted Khamenei as saying.
Several Iraqi officials have warned against a hasty US pullout on the grounds that Iraq's own security forces are not ready to take over fully.
"The US are trying to put in power a lackey government" in Iraq, Khamenei added. "But the US policy will definitely fail and the victors in this arena will be the Iraqi people."
Maliki was quoted as telling Khamenei: "Iraq should regain its independence and dignity. The Iraqi government is trying to get Iraq back to normal."
Ahmadinejad earlier told the Iraqi prime minister: "Iran and Iraq both have heavy responsibilities to bring about peace and security in the region."
AFP from Washington ads: US President George W. Bush sternly warned Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki Thursday against cozying up to Iran, amid what Washington sees as unsettling signs of warming Baghdad-Tehran relations.
Bush, holding a pre-vacation press conference, said he was not surprised at pictures showing cordial meetings between Maliki and top Iranian leaders in Tehran but that he hoped the prime minister was delivering a tough message.
"You don't want the picture to be kind of, you know, duking it out," when on a diplomatic mission he said, putting up his fists like a boxer.
But "if the signal is that Iran is constructive, I will have to have a heart-to- heart with my friend, the prime minister, because I don't believe they are constructive," said Bush, who called Iran "a very troubling nation."
The US president's comments came days after he disagreed sharply with Afghan President Hamid Karzai about Iran's influence after Karzai called Tehran a positive force in combating extremists in his country.
And they came as top US officials worried about the pace of political reconciliation in Iraq, amid misgivings in Washington about whether Maliki, a Shiite, truly wanted or was able to build bridges to minority Sunnis.
Iran, which the United States blames for fomenting much of the bloodshed in Iraq, had earlier given visiting Maliki its full support for restoring security but told him a pullout of US forces was the only way to end the violence.
Following a renewed warning from President George W. Bush over Tehran's alleged meddling in Iraq, Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei told Maliki the presence of US troops was the biggest obstacle to restoring security.
Leaving behind a political crisis at home, the Shiite premier received a warm welcome from Iran's top leaders, including Khamenei, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and national security chief Ali Larijani.
Maliki was also quoted by Iranian state media as praising Iran's "constructive" role in "fighting terrorism" in Iraq-a statement Bush moved swiftly to contradict.
"If the signal is that Iran is constructive, I will have to have a heart to heart with my friend the prime minister because I do not believe they are," Bush told a White House news conference.
However, Khamenei said in his meeting with Maliki in the Shiite holy city of Mashhad that it was the presence of the US-led forces that was the "biggest misfortune" shadowing Iraq.
"The occupiers claim that if they exit now, Iraq will be destroyed. Whereas if the occupiers leave, all the Iraqi officials will move with full force to solve the people's problems," state television quoted Khamenei as saying.
Several Iraqi officials have warned against a hasty US pullout on the grounds that Iraq's own security forces are not ready to take over fully.
"The US are trying to put in power a lackey government" in Iraq, Khamenei added. "But the US policy will definitely fail and the victors in this arena will be the Iraqi people."
Maliki was quoted as telling Khamenei: "Iraq should regain its independence and dignity. The Iraqi government is trying to get Iraq back to normal."
Ahmadinejad earlier told the Iraqi prime minister: "Iran and Iraq both have heavy responsibilities to bring about peace and security in the region."
AFP from Washington ads: US President George W. Bush sternly warned Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki Thursday against cozying up to Iran, amid what Washington sees as unsettling signs of warming Baghdad-Tehran relations.
Bush, holding a pre-vacation press conference, said he was not surprised at pictures showing cordial meetings between Maliki and top Iranian leaders in Tehran but that he hoped the prime minister was delivering a tough message.
"You don't want the picture to be kind of, you know, duking it out," when on a diplomatic mission he said, putting up his fists like a boxer.
But "if the signal is that Iran is constructive, I will have to have a heart-to- heart with my friend, the prime minister, because I don't believe they are constructive," said Bush, who called Iran "a very troubling nation."
The US president's comments came days after he disagreed sharply with Afghan President Hamid Karzai about Iran's influence after Karzai called Tehran a positive force in combating extremists in his country.
And they came as top US officials worried about the pace of political reconciliation in Iraq, amid misgivings in Washington about whether Maliki, a Shiite, truly wanted or was able to build bridges to minority Sunnis.
Iran, which the United States blames for fomenting much of the bloodshed in Iraq, had earlier given visiting Maliki its full support for restoring security but told him a pullout of US forces was the only way to end the violence.