The head of Iraqi Turkmen Assembly: "No group or country could disrupt Iran-Iraqi ties and friendship."
"No terrorist group or hostile country could damage historical friendship between Iran and Iraq," said Dr. Feizallah Mohammed Saleh.
In a meeting between Habilian Association officials and high-ranking Iraqi delegation, comprised of representatives of Iraqi Turkmen and the members of the Islamic Movement of Iraqi Turkmen, Dr. Feizallah Mohammed Saleh added: "We are proud of close relations between the two countries and thank Iran for supporting Iraqi people."
"With Baathists in power, Turkmen lived an innocent life and a very difficult situation was crated by Bathist regime."
"During the uprising of 1991, a number of Turkmen from Kirkuk were also killed by the organization of Monafeghin. So, besides the suppression of the uprising in the north, different ethnicities faced the risk of becoming totally destroyed," he added.
In the meeting, Secretary General of Habilian Association, Mohamad Jawad Hasheminezhad, stressed the common concerns of the two sides and said: "Unity and solidarity of Iran and Iraq is so deep that big powers try to destroy it. This policy has continued during the ruling of corrupted rulers in Iraq and Iran."
"As they entered Iraq, Americans noted that they have never seen such unity between the two countries. Therefore, they occupied Iraq under the name of democracy while their end goal is to divide the two nations," he added.
"It is a crucial time for Iranians and Iraqis because the occupiers and terrorists try to divide them. This plan is supposed to be led by terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda and the organization of Mojahedine Khalgh," Mr. Hasheminezhad went on to say.
"With its 40 years of history, MKO has numerous experiences in the field of massacre, terrorism and destruction. However, the question is "what does American democracy mean when Iraqis want to expel the ones who killed their children and they oppose it?"
He added: "Sixteen thousands Iranians have been killed by this terrorist group and Monafeghin’s own documents prove this."
Dr. Saami, deputy head of Iraqi Turkmen Assembly also stressed the history of Iranians’ friendship with Iraq and said: "Many of terrorist blows to Iraq have been from neighboring countries. However, the West and the US in particular have directed their attacks at Iran and Syrian. This shows their double standards in dealing with terrorism and human rights.
"Years ago we saw that Imam Khomeini warned Arab countries that after the war with Iran, Iraq would not respect them. We all witnessed that six days after the end of war with Iran, Saddam attacked Kuwait and occupied that country," he said.
He said Al-Qaeda and Mojahedine Khalgh are two notorious terrorist groups, adding: "They have close ties with CIA and Mossad. We have solid documents on this and are ready to publish them."
Hasheminezhad also said: "Persians and Arabs couldn’t ignore each other but they should respect each other in order to live a peaceful life. In this way, we should avoid illogical hostilities and therefore, the mercenary group of Mojahedine khalgh should be expelled from Iraq."
Stressing that the issue of martyrs of Iran-Iraq war should be resolved between the two countries, he said: "Many families in both Iran and Iraq still have problems regarding this issue and we won’t quit efforts for finding our martyrs according to agreements."
Secretary General of Habilian Association underlined the request of Iranians and Iraqis, stating: "Although disarmed, MKO is still training and organizing terrorists, enjoying good logistical support and financial aid. Iraqis will be harmed more if the group could stay in their country."