Christian Iraqi Militia Leader Ryan Chaldean: If Not For Iran, ISIS Would Be in Baghdad by Now; Saudi Arabia the Cause of Iraq's Destruction

Ryan Chaldean, Commander of the Christian Iraqi Babylon Brigades, praised Iran, saying that "if not for the Iranian intervention, ISIS would have been in Baghdad, Najaf, Karbala, and Erbil by now." Speaking in an interview with the Iraqi Baghdad TV on February 28, Chaldean further said that Saudi Arabia exported terrorism via its "takfiri mosques," and that it was "the cause of Iraq's destruction."

 

Ryan Chaldean: "Hajj Qasem Soleimani joins us on the battlefront. If he hadn't been there, it would have been impossible to win the battle, of course, because he is an advisor..."

 

 

Host: "Why? Don't we have Iraqi advisors?"

 

 

Ryan Chaldean: "This question should be directed toward the General Commander of the Armed Forces. The way I see it, it was the presence of Hajj Qasem Soleimani that determined the battle. Hajj Qasem Soleimani contributed a lot to Iraq, to be honest. I've said this many times..."

 

 

Host: "He's not crazy about the Iraqis. He does this to prevent ISIS from reaching Iran, and perhaps he has other interests, but don't tell me that he's crazy about the Iraqis."

 

 

Ryan Chaldean: "Today, if some problem occurs with the Christians in Syria, I personally will go and defend the Syrian Christians. This is my duty, my religious duty. Today, the Iranian Republic stands by Iraq. The Iranian Republic even stood by Kurdistan."

 

 

Host: "In what way?"

 

 

Ryan Chaldean: "In many ways. If not for the Iranian intervention, ISIS would have been in Baghdad, in Najaf, in Karbala, and in Erbil by now."

 

 

Host: "So it was Iran that prevented ISIS from reaching Baghdad?"

 

 

Ryan Chaldean: "Yes. Not Iran, but the Iranian advisors and the weapons it provided. The Minister of Defense himself said: 'When I asked the Americans for weapons and missiles, they said that they would need the approval of the U.S. Congress. And when I traveled to Iran, they sent the weapons in less than 15 hours.' We are grateful to all the countries that supported Iraq--be it America, Iran, or Saudi Arabia. We welcome this support.

 

 

[...]

 

 

"We are grateful and we salute any country that has aided Iraq. Saudi Arabia... Where is Saudi Arabia? Does this upset you?"

 

 

Host: "No. Our channel is directed at all Iraqis."

 

 

Ryan Chaldean: "Great. Wasn't there a danger that ISIS would reach Saudi Arabia?"

 

 

Host: "Absolutely."

 

 

Ryan Chaldean: "The cars [of ISIS] in Al-Anbar had Saudi plate numbers. Right?"

 

 

Host: "You know the details of the battle better than me."

 

 

Ryan Chaldean: "No, you know this. These were Saudi cars. I am not against the Saudi people, but against the policies of the Saud clan. Let me give you an example. A group of Christian Lebanese went to Saudi Arabia to work there. They took the Bible with them, and they prayed at home. The Saudis arrested them."

 

 

Host: "Why?"

 

 

Ryan Chaldean: "Because they pray with the Bible. This complex, this backwardness... Honestly, how can they ever become a state? I believe that..."

 

 

Host: "But nobody can deny that Saudi Arabia is a strong country."

 

 

Ryan Chaldean: "Strong? The last time they fought was in the Battle of Uhud [625 CE]. You can always appease them with a couple of lambs..."

 

 

Host: "I see that you know your Islamic history..."

 

 

Ryan Chaldean: "Of course. Today, Saudi Arabia has its own agendas..."

 

 

Host: "All countries have agendas."

 

 

Ryan Chaldean: "Right. Having agendas is fine. If there are shared interests between Iraq, America, Russia, Iran... It's not a problem. But when a country exports terrorism to us, via the takfiri mosques of Saudi Arabia..."

 

 

Host: "So it's just Saudi Arabia that exports terror?"

 

 

Ryan Chaldean: "It is done publicly in mosques. There are offices for recruiting people to go wage jihad in Iraq. And what if someone wants to wage jihad in Tel Aviv? That's the reality. They gave Israel a free pass. On many issues, they said: 'We are the allies of Israel.'"

 

 

Host: "Who said this?"

 

 

Ryan Chaldean: "Their Israeli 'brothers.' They said: 'We are the allies of Saudi Arabia and Qatar.'

 

 

[...]

 

 

"I am unwilling to visit Saudi Arabia and so is anyone who follows me, because Saudi Arabia is the cause of Iraq's destruction."