BAGHDAD — Iraq’s president hit back at Donald Trump Monday for saying U.S. troops should stay in Iraq to keep an eye on neighboring Iran, saying the U.S. leader did not ask for Iraq’s permission to do so.
“We find these comments strange,” said Barham Salih, speaking in Baghdad.
Trump’s comments added to concerns in Iraq about America’s long-term intentions, particularly after it withdraws its troops from Syria. Trump has angered Iraqi politicians and Iranian-backed factions by arguing he would keep U.S. troops in Iraq and use it as a base to strike Islamic State group targets in Syria as needed.
In an interview with CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” he said U.S. troops in Iraq were also needed to monitor Iran.
“He didn’t ask Iraq about this,” Salih said Monday. He said U.S. troops were in Iraq as part of an agreement between the two countries with a specific mission of assisting in the fight against the IS group and combatting “terrorism.” He said the Iraqi constitution forbids the use of Iraq as a base to threaten the interests or security of neighboring countries.
“Don’t overburden Iraq with your own issues,” he added.
In the CBS interview, Trump said the U.S. has an “incredible base” in Iraq that he intends to keep, “because I want to be able to watch Iran.”
“We spent a fortune on building this incredible base,” Trump said. “We might as well keep it. And one of the reasons I want to keep it is because I want to be looking a little bit at Iran because Iran is a real problem.”
He said the U.S. base in Iraq is “perfectly situated for looking at all over different parts of the troubled Middle East.”
He appeared to be referring to the Al-Asad air base in western Iraq, where he paid a brief visit to U.S. forces in December. The base hosts American troops but belongs to the Iraqi army.
Trump’s comments appear to have further inflamed tensions in Iraq over the continued presence of U.S. troops after the defeat of the Islamic State group. Curbing foreign influence has become a hot-button issue in Iraq after parliament elections in May in which Shiite militias backed by Iran made significant gains. The militias fought alongside U.S.-backed Iraqi troops against IS in recent years, gaining outsized influence and power along the way.
Now, after defeating IS militants in their last urban bastions, Iraqi politicians and militia leaders are speaking out against the continued presence of U.S. forces on Iraqi soil.
