“Don’t trust America … It will harm you in the future.”Iraq is one of the only countries in the world that is closely allied to both the United States and Iran. Iran, the predominant Shi‘ite power in the Middle East, funds and trains Iraqi Shi‘ite paramilitaries known as Popular Mobilisation, which fight alongside government troops. But a confrontation between the Iraqi central government and its Kurdish minority in recent weeks has threatened to tip the balance in Iran’s favour. He has since travelled to both Turkey and Iran to seek support for his hard line towards the Kurds. “We will preserve Iraq’s unity and will never allow any secession,” Iran’s state news agency IRNA quoted Abadi as saying during his meeting with Khamenei.

Source: Egypt Independent October 26, 2017 09:56 UTC