US President Barack Obama acknowledged the essential role of Iran-backed Shiite militias in battling the so-called Islamic State (IS) militant group in Iraq.
Obama made the remarks after meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in Washington on Tuesday, Reuters reported.
Asked about Iranian involvement in Iraq, Obama said he expected the neighbors to have an “important relationship,” and recognized that the mobilization of Shiite militias had been necessary to counter the advance made IS last year.
But he added that foreign-backed groups in Iraq should now be under Abadi’s control.
“Once Prime Minister Abadi took power ... from that point on, any foreign assistance that is helping to defeat ISIL (another acronym for IS) has to go through the Iraqi government. That’s how you respect Iraqi sovereignty,” Obama said.
