Wish God Would End America’s Menace Over Iraq

One day after Iyad Allawi, who heads Iraq’s mainly Sunni Iraqiya bloc, accused Iran of trying to “wreck havoc” in Iraq and the Middle East, ayatollah Khamenei and other Islamic republic government officials met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, offering the Islamic republic’s support and advice for the reconstruction of Iraq and calling on the almighty God to end America’s menace over Iraq.

The Islamic republic officials emphasized the need for the formation of a cabinet and a functioning government in Iraq while, according to many Arab-language media outlets and independent analysts, Nouri Maliki’s visit to Iran was motivated mainly by the desire to gain Tehran’s blessing for his reappointment to the prime minister post.

In this regard, Iraqi parliament member and political analyst Mahmoud Othman told Rooz, “Nouri Maliki’s visit to Iran is not for official purposes. He has traveled to Iran along with representatives from his bloc to gain further support from Tehran for his reappointment to the prime minister post in Iraq.”

In his meeting with current Iraqi prime minister Nouri Maliki on Monday, ayatollah Khamenei, the Islamic republic supreme leader, stated that the immediate formation of a government in Iraq was a precondition for the “complete establishment of security” in that country.

Noting the several-month delay in the formation of a government, Mr. Khamenei told Nouri Maliki: “The immediate formation of a government and the complete establishment of security are important issues for Iraq because Iraq’s progress and development, and the nation’s elevation to its proper status, will be possible if these two goals are achieved.”

The Islamic republic supreme leader also noted the improvement in security conditions in Iraq and blamed “certain powers” for the country’s woes. He claimed that the interests of these powers lie in creating insecurity.

The Islamic republic supreme leader hoped that “the almighty God ends America’s menace over Iraq as soon as possible so that the Iraqi nation’s problems are solved.”

The Iraqi prime minister also met with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in his one-day visit.

Nouri Maliki, who has been recently nominated by the Iraqi National Alliance to form a new Iraqi government, visited Syria and Jordan prior to his visit to Tehran. According to the Iraqi media, he is scheduled to visit Turkey and several countries in the Persian Gulf before visiting Egypt.

His visit to Iran comes seven months after parliamentary elections in Iraq created a political deadlock, with the new representatives unable to agree on the formation of a new government. Political analysts have described the situation in Iraq as volatile.