Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Tuesday that President Donald Trump's expressed wish to keep U.S. forces in Iraq in order to monitor neighboring Iran has exposed American "lies" about fighting terrorism. In a recent interview with CBS News' "Face the Nation," Trump said the U.S. has an "incredible base" in Iraq that he intends to keep, "because I want to be able to watch Iran." Addressing Trump with sarcasm in remarks carried by official media, Rouhani said: "You say you stay in Iraq to watch Iran, while before that you were saying you stay there for fighting terrorism. Iraq's president also rejected Trump's remarks, saying the U.S. does not have permission to use the country as a listening station. Trump has adopted a hard line on Iran, accusing it of sowing chaos across the region through its proxies in Iraq and other countries.

Source: ABC News February 05, 2019 16:18 UTC