kayhan.ir

News ID: 45598
Publish Date : 23 October 2017 - 19:35
After Tillerson’s Call for Hashd al-Shaabi Eviction:

Abadi to U.S.: Don’t Interfere in Iraqi Matters

BAGHDAD (Dispatches) -- Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s media office expressed surprise on Monday at comments by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson regarding Iraqi Popular Mobilization paramilitary units better known as Hashd al-Shaabi.
Abadi dismissed Tillerson’s remarks after a meeting on Sunday with the Iraqi premier and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman that it was time for the volunteer forces and their Iranian advisers to "go home”.
"No party has the right to interfere in Iraqi matters,” the statement from Abadi’s office read.
Hashd al-Shaabi forces have played a key role in the Iraqi government’s fight against Daesh and other Takfiri terrorists who were effectively defeated in July when an offensive captured their stronghold Mosul.
They are paid by the Iraqi government and officially report to the prime minister, with Abadi’s office reiterating Monday that the forces are under the authority of the Iraqi government. "Hashd al-Shaabi forces are Iraqi patriots,” it said in the statement.
 Hashd al-Shaabi is an Iraqi state-sponsored umbrella organization composed of some 40 groups. The force reportedly numbers more than 100,000 fighters.
Iraqi authorities say there are between 25,000 and 30,000 Sunni tribal fighters within its ranks in addition to Kurdish Izadi and Christian units, with the rest being Shia Muslims.
Iranian military advisors have helped in their training, prompting Tillerson in Saudi Arabia and later in Qatar to accuse the Islamic Republic of "malign behavior."
"Those fighters need to go home," Tillerson said. "Any foreign fighters need to go home," he said of Hashd al-Shaabi combatants.
On Monday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif hit out at the remarks, saying those who are fighting against Daesh terrorists have never been waiting for anybody’s order to defend their homeland.
Speaking to reporters at the end of the 13th meeting of Iran-South Africa Joint Commission in Pretoria, Zarif said the anti-Daesh fighters "are already in their homes and have not been waiting and will not wait for anybody’s order.”
"If they had waited for orders from Tillerson and U.S. government, today, we would have had Daesh in Baghdad and Erbil,” he said.
Hashd al-Shaabi fighters, Zarif said, have only acted in line with orders from religious authorities and defended their own homeland.
"Unlike the U.S. that sees its interests in division and discord, the Islamic Republic of Iran sees its interests in cooperation and collaboration with regional countries,” he added.
On Sunday, the Iranian foreign minister said Tillerson’s remarks had been uttered under the influence of petrodollars of certain states.
"Exactly what country is it that Iraqis, who rose up to defend their homes against ISIS, should return to?” Zarif said in a tweet, using an alternative name for Daesh. "Shameful U.S. FP (foreign policy), dictated by petrodollars,” he added.
Upon his arrival in Pretoria, Zarif also denounced the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration as "isolated in the world.”
"Unfortunately, the Americans do not want to rectify their viewpoint that Iran is a source of stability and peace as well as a campaigner against terrorism in the region,” he said.
The Iranian foreign minister said even the staunchest allies of the U.S. oppose Trump’s policies.