Kick Americans out, top Iranian cleric tells Iraqis

AFP: Every ballot in Iraq’s elections was a vote against the United States, but the United States did not understand the message and should be be kicked out, a top hardline Iranian cleric told Iraqis Friday. “Every vote counted as a big ‘no’ to the US, meaning that they should get out of Iraq,” Ayatollah Ahmad Janati, head of the Guardians Council political watchdog, said in a Friday prayer sermon at Tehran University. AFP

TEHRAN – Every ballot in Iraq’s elections was a vote against the United States, but the United States did not understand the message and should be be kicked out, a top hardline Iranian cleric told Iraqis Friday.

“Every vote counted as a big ‘no’ to the US, meaning that they should get out of Iraq,” Ayatollah Ahmad Janati, head of the Guardians Council political watchdog, said in a Friday prayer sermon at Tehran University.

“The Iraqis have proved that they are politically mature by demanding the territorial integrity and independence of their country,” he added.

But he added: “I am telling the beloved Iraqis that the US will not leave and that you will have to kick them out.”

Meanwhile, Janati said the vote count following the Sunday election was going well, but that Iraqis should “be attentive.”

“Be careful, so that the Americans do not waste your efforts by plotting in a way that you do not get your desired results,” he said.