Maliki said Iraq”will not let any terrorist party harm its relations with
Iraq’s government said on Wednesday it wanted 3,500 members of the terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO/PMOI) in Camp Ashraf, north of Baghdad, to leave the country.
The MKO, whose main stronghold is in Iraq, is blacklisted by much of the international community, including the United States.
Maliki repeated his government’s call for members of the group to leave in his comments to Al-Alam. He also said Iraq would not force them to leave to Iran or another country but would leave the choice to them.
Maliki said Iraq”will not let any terrorist party harm its relations with neighboring governments”and named the MKO, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) that wants a homeland in southeast Turkey and PKK offshoot, the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), that stages terrorist operations in Iran’s western border areas and often clashes with Iranian forces.
MKO started assassination of the citizens and officials after the revolution in a bid to take control of the newly established Islamic Republic. It killed several of Iran’s new leaders in the early years after the revolution, including the then President, Mohammad Ali Rajayee, Prime Minister, Mohammad Javad Bahonar and the Judiciary Chief, Mohammad Hossein Beheshti who were killed in bomb attacks by MKO members in 1981.
The group fled to Iraq in 1986, where it was protected by Saddam Hussein and where it helped the Iraqi dictator suppress Shiite and Kurd uprisings in the country.
The terrorist group joined Saddam’s army during the Iraqi imposed war on Iran (1980-1988) and helped Saddam and killed thousands of Iranian civilians and soldiers during the US-backed Iraqi imposed war on Iran.
Since the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, the group, which now adheres to a pro-free-market philosophy, has been strongly backed by neo-conservatives in the United States, who also argue for the MKO to be taken off the US terror list.
The MKO has been in Iraq’s Diyala province since the 1980s…..
Full Report:
Maliki: Iraq won’t Be Used to Threaten Neighbors
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iraq’s prime minister, who started a visit to Iran on Saturday, said his government would not allow Iraq to be used as a base to threaten its neighbors.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told Iran’s Arabic news channel on Friday that Baghdad”will not let Iraq be a launching ground to threaten any country,”Al-Alam said on its website.
US forces in Iraq came under Iraqi mandate on January 1, a move Maliki said restored sovereignty nearly six years after the US-led invasion.
Iran is embroiled in a row over its nuclear plans with the United States, which has refused to rule out military action to end the dispute.
Washington and its Western allies accuse Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program, while they have never presented any corroborative evidence to substantiate their allegations. Iran denies the charges and insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.
Tehran stresses that the country has always pursued a civilian path to provide power to the growing number of Iranian population, whose fossil fuel would eventually run dry.
A US attack on the Syrian village of Sukkariyah on October 26, has raised speculation about the likelihood of a US unilateral strike on the Islamic Republic.
Speculation that Israel could also bomb Iran mounted after a big Israeli air drill in June. In the first week of June, 100 Israeli F-16 and F-15 fighters reportedly took part in an exercise over the eastern Mediterranean and Greece, which was interpreted as a dress rehearsal for a possible attack on Iran’s nuclear installations.
Iran has warned that it would target Israel and its worldwide interests in case it comes under attack by the Tel Aviv.
The United States has always stressed that military action is a main option for the White House to deter Iran’s progress in the field of nuclear technology.
Iran has warned that in case of an attack by either the US or Israel, it will target 32 American bases in the Middle East and close the strategic Strait of Hormoz.
An estimated 40 percent of the world’s oil supply passes through the waterway.
Analysts say any US attack against Iran would most likely involve air strikes rather than any land invasion. Washington used its bases in regional countries to attack Iraq in 2003.
Maliki also”emphasized that Iraq will open all pending files with neighboring states and others in order to build sound relations with them,”the report said, adding that Iraq would be an”axis for positive relations with Iran”.
Iraq’s government said on Wednesday it wanted 3,500 members of the terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) in Camp Ashraf, north of Baghdad, to leave the country.
The MKO, whose main stronghold is in Iraq, is blacklisted by much of the international community, including the United States.
Maliki repeated his government’s call for members of the group to leave in his comments to Al-Alam. He also said Iraq would not force them to leave to Iran or another country but would leave the choice to them.
Maliki said Iraq”will not let any terrorist party harm its relations with neighboring governments”and named the MKO, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) that wants a homeland in southeast Turkey and PKK offshoot, the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), that stages terrorist operations in Iran’s western border areas and often clashes with Iranian forces.
MKO started assassination of the citizens and officials after the revolution in a bid to take control of the newly established Islamic Republic. It killed several of Iran’s new leaders in the early years after the revolution, including the then President, Mohammad Ali Rajayee, Prime Minister, Mohammad Javad Bahonar and the Judiciary Chief, Mohammad Hossein Beheshti who were killed in bomb attacks by MKO members in 1981.
The group fled to Iraq in 1986, where it was protected by Saddam Hussein and where it helped the Iraqi dictator suppress Shiite and Kurd uprisings in the country.
The terrorist group joined Saddam’s army during the Iraqi imposed war on Iran (1980-1988) and helped Saddam and killed thousands of Iranian civilians and soldiers during the US-backed Iraqi imposed war on Iran.
Since the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, the group, which now adheres to a pro-free-market philosophy, has been strongly backed by neo-conservatives in the United States, who also argue for the MKO to be taken off the US terror list.
The MKO has been in Iraq’s Diyala province since the 1980s.
Maliki is expected to meet Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his two-day visit.