Iraqi FM Fuad Hussein: We Respect Iran As A Neighbor, But There Is A Wall Between Us; The Iraqi Military Needs American Help With Training, Weapons, Intelligence, Air Defense, Aircraft, Advisers

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said that Iraq respects Iran as a friend, neighbor, and ally, but there is a wall between the two countries, and Iran must respect Iraq as a country. He made these remarks in an interview that aired on Al-Sharqiya TV (Iraq) on May 1, 2021. Hussein said that currently there are no American bases in Iraq, however, the Iraqi military requires American help with training, weapons, intelligence information exchange, air defense, aircraft, and advisers.

Fuad Hussein: "It is my job to tell [Iran:] 'I respect you, as my friend, as my ally, and as my neighbor, but there is a wall between us.' A wall means that you have to enter through the door, as do I. You should treat me as a country, just like I treat you.”

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"Do the Americans have bases in Iraq? We asked Iraqi military professionals about this. Take the Ayn Al-Asad base as an example. It is an Iraqi base. The Americans are located in some area of this Iraqi base. There is no American base in Iraq. Second, are there American combat forces in Iraq? When we started the [Iraqi-American Strategic] Dialogue, the Americans had 5,300 soldiers here. Now their number has dropped to 2,400 soldiers. More than half left Iraq. The other question we posed to Iraqi military and security officials was: Tell us what you need? We are not relying on what the Americans need, but on what the Iraqis need. The military and security officials said that they needed to continue the training. We need training, weapons, intelligence information exchange, with an emphasis on ISIS. After all, they have advanced capabilities. In addition, we need air defense, aircraft, advisers. All this was raised by [the Iraqi] military and security agencies."