NEW REGIONAL ORDER
‘AMERICA WILL HAVE NO PLACE IN THE REGION’
Iran, Iraq Close Ranks as Ghalibaf Says U.S. Defeated
Militarily, Politically and Economically
TEHRAN -- “America will have no place in the region,” Iran’s Supreme National Security Council secretary declared Tuesday, as senior Iranian officials warned that Washington’s military, political and economic campaigns against the Islamic Republic have failed and called for closer cooperation with Iraq and other regional countries.
Mohsen Rezaei made the declaration during a meeting with Faiq Zidan, president of Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council, here where the two sides discussed bilateral relations, regional security and the need to address threats along the shared border.
Rezaei said the Islamic Republic of Iran wants “an independent and strong Iraq,” while stressing that the status of anti-Iranian groups stationed along the two countries’ borders “must be resolved.”
The remarks came as Tehran and Baghdad sought to strengthen their cooperation at a time when Iranian
officials say a new regional order is emerging and the United States is seeking to preserve its influence through military pressure, political intervention and increasingly sweeping economic measures.
Iranian officials have described the relationship with Iraq as central to that emerging order, emphasizing the two countries’ common interests, shared borders and long-standing security, political and cultural ties.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Muhammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who also met with Zidan, said the United States launched its war against Iran with the objective of overthrowing the Islamic Republic and expanding American hegemony across West Asia and the Muslim world.
But, he said, those objectives have failed.
“America was defeated in the military and political war against Iran and will also be defeated in economic actions,” Ghalibaf said.
He said that the outcome of the confrontation has become clear internationally, saying the United States has failed to achieve its political and military objectives despite the campaign against Iran.
Ghalibaf described the current circumstances facing Iran and Iraq as “sensitive and historic,” saying a new regional order is taking shape.
He specifically pointed to the planned withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, describing it as “a historic honor for the Iraqi government and nation” and expressing hope that the withdrawal will be fully implemented from both Iraqi territory and airspace.
The parliament speaker said Iran and Iraq could play a decisive role in the emerging regional order, particularly in the Persian Gulf, underscoring the importance of the two countries’ historical and strategic relationship.
Ghalibaf also warned that Israel’s strategy is not limited to confrontation with Iran but is aimed at extending conflict to other countries in the region.
“If Israel had succeeded in its war with Iran, it would have gone after other countries,” he said.
He called on Islamic countries to set aside divisive issues and strengthen unity, stating that regional disputes should not be allowed to serve the interests of outside powers.
Ghalibaf referred to the war in Gaza and Iran’s support for Palestinians, saying that Shias have stood alongside the people of Gaza.
He also recalled the position of late Iranian commander General Qassem Soleimani, saying: “Shia and Sunni are not only brothers, but we give our lives for Sunnis as well.”
Ghalibaf also emphasized the deep historical ties between Iran and Iraq, saying there is no doubt that the two countries could exercise a decisive influence over the future regional order, particularly in the Persian Gulf.
He thanked Iraq for its role in hosting major religious ceremonies and for its support for Iran, describing such events as an important capacity for the Islamic world and the Shiite community.
Zidan, meanwhile, conveyed a message of solidarity from the Iraqi government and people to the Islamic Republic following the recent war.
“I brought you the message of solidarity of the Iraqi people and government, and we declare our readiness to cooperate with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said.
Zidan praised Iran’s longstanding support for Iraq, particularly its assistance in the fight against terrorism and the Takfiri terrorist group Daesh.
He highlighted the role of General Soleimani and Iranian military advisers in supporting Iraq during the campaign against the group, recalling the sacrifices made by Iranian and Iraqi forces in the fight against terrorism.
Zidan also paid tribute to General Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, saying their martyrdoms together represented a message of unity between the two nations.
“We will never forget the positive positions of the Islamic Republic of Iran toward Iraq, and we will never forget the Iranian martyrs, especially Martyr Soleimani, who was martyred in Iraq,” Zidan said.
He described the solidarity between Iran and Iraq as enduring, saying the bond between the two peoples was “eternal.”
“I believe the harmony and solidarity of the Iranian and Iraqi people is an eternal solidarity,” Zidan said, describing the public participation in the funeral ceremony for Iran’s martyred leader as a spontaneous expression of popular solidarity.
The Iraqi official said regional cooperation, agreements and coalition-building could provide a path out of insecurity.
“Cooperation, agreement and coalition-building between the countries of the region is the path to liberation from insecurity,” he said, adding that the strong relationship between Iraq and Iran could provide a basis for Baghdad to work with other regional states toward broader cooperative agreements.
Zidan also stressed the importance of stronger political and security relations in promoting regional stability and containing Israel, while emphasizing Iran’s central role in those efforts.
He said closer multilateral and international cooperation could also enable countries across the region to benefit from their shared resources.
The confrontation between Tehran and Washington has also expanded into the economic sphere, with Iranian officials rejecting the latest U.S. sanctions campaign as an attempt to impose American decisions on governments, businesses and financial institutions beyond U.S. borders.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said the economic campaign against Iran should be regarded as an assault on the sovereignty of all states and the right of nations to determine their own future.
“The U.S. economic war against Iran is an attack on the national sovereignty of all countries and an assault on the right to self-determination of all nations,” Baghaei wrote on social media.
He was responding to the latest U.S. measures targeting Iran’s economic networks.
“When a bully declares that all banks, economic enterprises, ports, airports and governments must choose between obeying Washington’s whims or facing American retaliation, the matter is no longer limited to Iran alone,” Baghaei wrote.
He said such pressure threatened the basic principles of international law and the United Nations Charter, particularly respect for the sovereign equality of states and the right of peoples to self-determination.
“No honorable government that values its sovereignty and national interests will accept the normalization of such large-scale lawlessness and systematic bullying,” Baghaei said.
He also pointed to Canada as a country that, in his view, was gradually experiencing the reality of what he described as U.S. bullying under the guise of negotiations.
Iran’s acting defense minister, Brigadier General Seyyed Majid Ibn-e-Reza, separately warned that efforts to pressure Iran’s economy and the security of its population should be treated as part of the ongoing war against the country.
In a message published online Tuesday, Ibn-e-Reza said Iran considered economic stability, public welfare and security to be part of its “defense field.”
“Any pressure that targets the livelihoods and security of the people is part of the war,” he said.
The acting defense minister also warned that any expansion of the pressure campaign would be met by an expansion of Iran’s response within the framework of national interests.
“For those who expand the field of pressure, they should know that we too will expand the field in defense of the people, within the framework of national interests,” Ibn-e-Reza said.
His remarks followed the announcement by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent of a new campaign described by Washington as targeting Iran’s financial networks worldwide.
The new measures, presented by the United States under the name “Operation Economic Outcast,” threaten secondary penalties against countries and entities maintaining trade ties with Tehran.
The sanctions expand pressure in areas including digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping, while targeting around 60 entities, individuals and vessels accused of facilitating Iranian trade.
Iran has rejected the measures as illegal economic coercion and has portrayed the campaign as an attempt to use financial pressure to achieve objectives that Washington failed to accomplish through military means.
President Masoud Pezeshkian, during his separate meeting with Zidan and his accompanying delegation, called for broader cooperation among Muslim countries across political, economic, cultural and social fields.
Pezeshkian said greater regional integration is essential to establishing lasting peace and stability, warning that powerful countries seek to exploit the region’s vast natural resources and wealth.
He said that efforts to create divisions and conflicts among regional states were designed to facilitate control over those resources.
Muslim countries, he said, could counter such efforts by remaining vigilant and strengthening unity, while closer cooperation among neighboring states could provide a means of confronting common adversaries, including the United States and Israel.
Pezeshkian called for expanded cultural, commercial, social, political and economic relations among Muslim nations, saying greater interaction could establish stronger foundations for regional security.
He also stressed the importance of promoting justice within Muslim countries and resolving misunderstandings and disputes, arguing that such efforts could encourage broader multilateral cooperation.
The Iranian president proposed the formation of a coalition of Muslim countries based on the concept of a unified Islamic community.
Such cooperation, he said, could eventually pave the way for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the region and allow regional governments to establish a sustainable, homegrown model for security and stability.