Region | Iraq

Top Iranian cleric accuses US of 'enslaving' Iraqis

One of Iran's most powerful cleric-politicians said on Wednesday that the United States is trying to "enslave" Iraqis through a long-term security agreement being negotiated between Washington and Baghdad, and he vowed the Islamic world would stop the deal.

  • AP
  • Published: 16:29 June 4, 2008
  • Gulf News

Riyadh: One of Iran's most powerful cleric-politicians said on Wednesday that the United States is trying to "enslave" Iraqis through a long-term security agreement being negotiated between Washington and Baghdad, and he vowed the Islamic world would stop the deal.

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani told a gathering of Muslim figures in the holy city of Mecca that the US "occupation of represents a danger to all nations of the region" and warned that the security deal would create a "permanent occupation."

He added, "The essence of this agreement is to turn the Iraqis into slaves before the Americans, if it is sealed. This will not happen. The Iraqi people, the Iraqi government and the Islamic nation will not allow it."

Rafsanjani was speaking at a Saudi-sponsored conference aimed at unifying Muslim voices before an interfaith dialogue that Saudi King Abdullah wants to launch with Christian and Jewish religious figures.

Iran has sharply criticised the security agreement, which the Iraqis and Americans hope to finish in mid-summer. The deal would establish a long-term security relationship between Iraq and the United States, and a parallel agreement would provide a legal basis to keep US troops in Iraq after the UN mandate expires at the end of the year.

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