|
Riyadh: One of Iran's most powerful cleric-politicians on Thursday said that the United States is trying to "enslave" Iraqis through a long-term security pact being negotiated between Washington and Baghdad, and he vowed the Islamic world would stop the deal.
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani told a gathering of Muslim figures in Makkah that the US "occupation of Iraq represents a danger to all nations of the region" and warned that the security deal would create a "permanent occupation". The comments were the strongest and most high-level public condemnations of the potential security deal.
"The essence of this agreement is to turn the Iraqis into slaves before the Americans, if it is sealed. This will not happen. The Iraqi people, the Iraqi government and the Islamic nation will not allow it," Rafsanjani said, addressing a Saudi-sponsored conference aimed at unifying Muslim voices.
|
