AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Iranian Ambassador to Baghdad Iraj Masjedi said that the recent visit by Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force Major General Esmayeel Qa'ani to Baghdad was in line with strengthening bilateral ties and was not related to the strategic talks between Iraq and the US.
"The negotiations between Iraq and the US is an internal issue and the decision depends on Iraq, itself. Rest assured that Iran will support any agreement that the Iraqi government inks and the parliament approves," Masjedi said in an interview with the Arabic-language al-Iraqiyah news channel on Monday.
"The recent visit by Mr. Qa'ani is not related to these talks and he had earlier traveled to Iraq too," he added.
"Mr. Qa'ani has always visited Iraq upon an official invitation and with coordination with the Iraqi officials and any meeting he makes is in line with strengthening relations between the two countries," Masjedi said, adding that the Iraqi officials welcome and pay the same level of respect to General Qa'ani that they did to martyred Quds Force Commander General Soleimani.
His remarks came after the Associated Press claimed in a report on Thursday that "for his second visit, Ghaani had to apply for a visa, something unheard of in Soleimani’s time — a bold step by Baghdad’s new government effectively curtailing Iran’s freedom of movement inside Iraq".
"The episodes, relayed to The Associated Press by several Iraqi officials, illustrate Iran’s struggles to maintain sway over Iraqi militias six months after America assassinated Soleimani and top militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in a drone strike. Iran at the same time is grappling with the economic fallout from U.S. sanctions and the coronavirus outbreak," it added.
But senior Iran analyst, Seyed Mostafa Khoshcheshm, rejected the claims, questioning AP's fact-checking and authentic writing standards.
"Disinformation campaign again. IRGC Qods [Force] Commander Major General Ghaani, like martyred General Soleimani and all other Iran officials, didn't even need a visa to visit Iraq under a long time visa-waiver agreement for diplomatic visits," he wrote on his twitter page on Thursday.
"But for western media, authentic writing seems to be of no value in case of Iran," Khoshchesm said.
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source : FNA
Tuesday
16 June 2020
5:39:02 AM
1047054
Iranian envoy:
IRGC Quds Force commander's visit not related to Iraq-US talks
"The recent visit by Mr. Qa'ani is not related to these talks and he had earlier traveled to Iraq too," Iraj Masjedi added.