SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iraq’s national security advisor Qasem al-Araji said on Monday the former U.S. government’s will was to use Iraq as an arena for settling issues.
Araji met with French ambassador to Iraq Eric Chevallier in Baghdad on Monday, according to state news agency INA.
They discussed the latest political and security developments in the region, INA reported. The two sides also discussed the construction of a French hospital in Sinjar.
Regarding a U.S. drone strike that killed a top Iranian general and Hashid al-Shaabi deputy commander, Araji said it was a “vicious assault and a violation of Iraqi sovereignty”.
“The will of the former U.S. government was to make Iraq an arena for settling accounts,” Araji was quoted as saying.
Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and Hashid al-Shaabi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were killed in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad two years ago.
Soleimani headed an elite overseas unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, while Muhandis commanded Hashid al-Shaabi paramilitary network in Iraq.
The United States had accused Soleimani of masterminding attacks by Iranian-aligned militias on U.S. forces in the region.
