Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein has criticized the Islamic Republic of Iran's interference in Iraq's internal affairs, saying Baghdad's tone has changed vis-à-vis Tehran.
In an interview with the Egyptian Alghad TV channel aired on Sunday, he said that Tehran has begun to hear a new language from Baghdad, which did not exist before, noting that Iranian interference in Iraq is “unacceptable."
“These problems regarding Iranian interference whether political or otherwise, we have started talking with the Iranian side differently,” he added.
The Iraqi diplomat said Baghdad’s ties with Iran have passed a level of silence and reached a level of frankness.
“We have told our Iranian brothers that we are geographical neighbors and that will stay...therefore we need cooperation, we do not need interference from Iran. Interference in Iraqi affairs cannot be accepted from any state,” Hussein said.
Lawmakers from the Sadrist bloc in Iraq's parliament resigned on Sunday after their leader, powerful Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, asked them to step down amid a prolonged stalemate over forming a government without former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his Iran-aligned coalition.
On Saturday, Hussein said that Iraq had submitted a formal complaint to Iran for its aggressive behaviors toward Iraq and the Kurdistan Autonomous Region, and denied Iran's allegations that the Israeli Mossad is present in Erbil, stressing that Iran must refrain from attacks on the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.
“We find it strange that Iran chose the Kurdistan region to respond to Israel,” he said.
In March, Iran fired missiles at Erbil. No one was killed but missiles did damage to some residential buildings. Iran claimed it used 12 ballistic missiles in that attack and targeted an Israeli intelligence center.
Earlier in the day, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman dodged questions about Tehran’s involvement in last week’s drone attack on Erbil which injured three civilians.