Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Chia al-Soudani, in charge since the end of October, recognizes in an interview published on Sunday in the wall street journal that his country for the moment still “needs foreign troops”, mainly American. “We think we need foreign forces,” said the head of the Iraqi government, who added: “It will still take time to eliminate the Islamic State group.”
“We don’t need troops fighting inside Iraqi territory,” he said, adding: “The threat to Iraq comes from the penetration of cells [de l’Etat islamique] from Syria. The United States maintains in Iraq about 2,000 soldiers for training and advisory missions. NATO is also leading a non-combat mission in Iraq, involving according to its website “several hundred people” from several countries, NATO members or partners (Australia, Finland, Sweden).
Spare Iran and the United States
“I don’t think it’s impossible for Iraq to have a good relationship with both Iran and the United States,” Mohamed Chia al-Soudani said. His government, born after a year of sometimes bloody showdowns, relies on pro-Iran parties, which dominate the Assembly. Iraq is also very dependent on its neighbor’s gas and electricity. He faces immense expectations from an Iraqi people exhausted by a serious economic and social crisis.
The Iraqi Prime Minister went to Tehran at the end of November, a visit marked by promises of reinforced cooperation in terms of security but also on the economy. In the interview published on Sunday, Mohamed Chia al-Soudani is however anxious to also spare the United States, which continues to harden its tone against the Iranian regime. He told journalists questioning him that he wanted to send a high-level delegation to Washington soon, perhaps as a prelude to a meeting with US President Joe Biden.