A senior Iranian cleric says the US should withdraw its troops from Iraq if Washington seeks to survive the quagmire in the country.
The military agreement that the White House wants the Iraqi government to sign is ‘impractical’, said Tehran’s interim Friday prayers leader Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati with regards to the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) drawn up by Washington.
The US echelons are currently negotiating with Baghdad on the accord which will give legal basis to the presence of American troops in Iraq after December 31 when the UN resolution defining their status expires.
“The Iraqis will not be intimated by the US. They will not sign this treaty,” Ayatollah Jannati said.
Those who seek to impose the agreement on Baghdad are trying to create a rift between the Iraqi government and people, he expounded.
Turning to Iran’s nuclear program, Ayatollah Jannati said the Iranian nation, with the full support of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, would never abandon their inalienable rights to the peaceful use of nuclear technology.
“The enemy is now aggravated because the international community is becoming aware of the peaceful nature of Iran’s [nuclear] program,” he concluded.
