Iraq Denies Iranian Interference

Iraqi President Fuad Masum said the government of neighboring Iran does not meddle in the domestic affairs of his country. Speaking in a recent interview with the Saudi-run daily Okaz, the Iraqi president said his country seeks "balanced relations" with all regional countries and it cannot be "an adversary of Iran", ISNA reported. "They say Iran is interfering in Iraq, but these are just political [rhetoric]. I have not seen until today a single Iranian official asking me to do something." Masum was referring to anti-Iran propaganda by the Saudi government and some of its Arab allies, which claim that Tehran aspires to dominate the region and is controlling regional governments. Riyadh cut relations with Tehran early 2016, using as an excuse attacks on its diplomatic premises in Tehran and Mashhad by protesters angered over the Saudi execution of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr without due process.