Iran demands timeline for foreign troops to leave Iraq

Iran Focus: Tehran, Iran, Mar. 06 – Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki called on Monday for a timeline to be drawn up for the withdrawal of U.S. and British troops from Iraq.
Iran Focus

Tehran, Iran, Mar. 06 – Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki called on Monday for a timeline to be drawn up for the withdrawal of U.S. and British troops from Iraq.

Manouchehr Mottaki made the comments during a meeting with Mohammad Bani Hani, the Head of Iran-Jordan Parliamentary Group, according a statement by the Foreign Ministry carried by the official state news agency.

“Drawing up a timetable for the withdrawal of the occupiers from Iraq can be an effective solution to the trouble in that country”, Mottaki said.

He said that the “presence of occupiers in Iraq” was the reason behind the “desecration of Muslim sanctities”, a reference to the recent bombing of a revered Shiite Shrine in the Iraqi city of Samarra.

In February, Iran’s foreign minister demanded Britain pull its troops out of the southern Iraqi city of Basra, saying their presence was destabilising the city.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran demands the immediate withdrawal of British forces from Basra”, Mottaki said.

His demand was rejected by British Prime Minister Tony Blair.