By Al Ahed Staff, Agencies
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf has accused the United States of using its military presence in the Gulf to exploit the region’s resources, saying recent events have demonstrated that Washington brings instability rather than security.
Speaking during a meeting with Iraqi President Nazar Al-Amidi on Wednesday, Qalibaf said the recent 40-day war had exposed the limits of US security guarantees in West Asia.
“The United States has approached the countries of the Persian Gulf and the region only to loot and plunder their resources,” Qalibaf stated.
“Experience and the recent conflict have proven to regional countries that Americans are not only incapable of guaranteeing their security, but are actively the disruptors of regional peace.”
Qalibaf opened the meeting by expressing his gratitude to the Iraqi leadership and people for their solidarity with Iran, particularly during mourning ceremonies for the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution His Eminence Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei.
He specifically thanked the estimated 10 million Iraqis who participated in mourning ceremonies held across Iraqi cities.
“Iran and Iraq have always stood by each other in the hardest of times,” Qalibaf said, recalling the suffering inflicted on both countries under Saddam Hussein, whom he said acted “through US instigation and deceit.”
Qalibaf credited the late Leader’s policies over the past four decades with helping create a new foundation for unity among Islamic nations.
Addressing the recent war, he said Iran and Iraq had witnessed that the United States and the “criminal, vile nature of the Zionist regime” remain among the principal causes of instability and conflict in the region.
Qalibaf said Washington suffered what he described as a decisive military and political defeat during the latest aggression, arguing that the United States failed to achieve its objectives and was subsequently left in a position of desperation.
He also stressed that Iran-Iraq relations should extend beyond security cooperation, highlighting major economic and infrastructure projects that could strengthen the two countries’ independence from hostile external powers.
Among the priorities he identified were completing the Shalamcheh-Basra railway, dredging the Arvand Rud waterway and expanding border markets.
Iraqi President Amidi, for his part, welcomed the Iranian delegation and condemned the recent US-“Israeli” aggression, describing it as an inhumane war that violated international law and inflicted serious consequences on Iraq and the wider region.
Describing Iran and Iraq as “one nation living in two lands,” Amidi said Iraq’s strategic outlook remained rooted in the culture of resistance.
He called for an end to the current “no war, no peace” situation between Iran and the United States.
“Integrated regional security can only be achieved through the collective security of the region's own countries,” Amidi said. “As a supporter of regional stability, Iraq will stand with the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Qalibaf’s visit to Baghdad comes amid efforts to strengthen Iran-Iraq political and strategic coordination following the latest conflict.
The Iranian parliamentary delegation included Mohammad Taghi Naghali, head of the Iran-Iraq Parliamentary Friendship Group, along with members of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission.
Upon arriving in Baghdad, Qalibaf and his delegation visited the site where Lieutenant General Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were assassinated in a US drone strike in 2020, paying tribute to the two commanders.
Qalibaf also held separate meetings with Iraqi Parliament Speaker Hebat al-Halbousi and Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi.
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