Iran’s supreme leader told visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Monday that the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq was the biggest obstacle to its development as a united country. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hit out at the “occupiers” in Iraq at a time when Baghdad is negotiating with the United States on a new agreement aimed at giving a legal basis for U.S. troops to stay in Iraq after December 31, when their U.N. mandate expires.
“The presence of occupiers in Iraq, particularly the U.S. armed forces … is the main obstacle to unity in Iraq,” state radio quoted Khamenei, Shi’ite Iran’s top authority, as saying. He accused them of using their military and security powers to interfere in Iraq’s internal affairs but that the “Americans’ dreams” in the Middle East country would not be realized. More
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