Iran's Qaani says US 'expelled' from Iraq
Shafaq News- Tehran
The United States has been "expelled" from Iraq despite its vast resources and military might, Esmail Qaani, commander of the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said on Thursday, crediting Iraqis and Iran's allied armed groups for the withdrawal.
"This year's anniversary is being observed at a time when the US, despite possessing vast resources and equipment, has been expelled from Iraq, and the Iraqi people are celebrating this victory, thanks to the resistance of the Iraqi nation and the heroes of the Resistance Front," he told a ceremony in Tehran marking two years since the killing of Hezbollah leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine.
Read more: Iraq's Sovereignty Days: Coalition mission ends, factions keep their weapons
Looking ahead, Qaani said coordination between the Iraqi government, state institutions and “the children of the Resistance” would move Iraq toward greater security, peace and sovereignty and help remove what he described as the remaining effects of the US presence in other fields. He added that armed groups remained active in Iraq, which he described as one of the region's most sensitive arenas, and were pursuing their course with “prudence and planning.”
Qaani also accused Washington of trying to downplay the significance of its departure by raising what he called “peripheral issues,” including aircraft overflights, without specifying which flights he meant.
The US-led Coalition ended its military mission in Iraq on September 30. Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi marked the occasion by declaring there would be "no weapons outside the umbrella of the law, and no force outside state institutions."
Iraq's armed factions have taken differing positions on the withdrawal and the government's weapons-control process. Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada and Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya welcomed the withdrawal or pledged to honor agreements with the government, while Ashab al-Kahf rejected disarmament outright and threatened to attack foreign forces.
Qaani's last known visit to Baghdad came on August 10, when he led a senior military and security delegation on an unannounced trip and met Badr Organization leader Hadi al-Amiri and other political and faction figures. During that visit, he urged the factions "not to surrender their weapons for now," while warning them against any armed confrontation with government forces and pressing instead for a political settlement with Baghdad, an informed source told Shafaq News at the time.
