Immediately after Iraq declared victory over the self-styled Islamic State terrorist group and terrorist threats were lifted in late 2017, Iran recalled all its military advisors from the neighboring country, a diplomat said.
Iraj Masjedi, Iran’s ambassador to Iraq, made the statement in a recent press conference in Baghdad.
“Unlike Iran, the United States has kept its forces in the region despite the IS defeat, and instead of announcing the end of its mission, it is reinforcing its military bases,” he was quoted as saying by ISNA.
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he has no plans to withdraw American forces from Iraq, a week after announcing a surprise pullout of troops from Syria and ordering the Pentagon to bring home roughly half of the American forces deployed to Afghanistan.
The Iranian ambassador noted that the US military's exit from Syria should be regarded as part of Washington’s strategic policy in the region, which involves creating instability and crisis.
“The Americans do not want to destroy IS, but want to manage it so that the region would always remain in turmoil,” he said.
Masjedi stressed that the presence of US troops is not justifiable because regional countries have adequate domestic military forces to defend themselves.
