Alwaght- Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says those forces who are fighting against ISIS Takfiri terrorists have never been waiting for anybody’s order to defend their homeland.
Speaking to reporters at the end of the 13th meeting of Iran-South Africa Joint Commission in Pretoria on Monday, Zarif made the remarks in reaction to earlier comments by US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson in Saudi capital Riyadh.
Tillerson at a joint news conference with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said on Sunday "Iranian militias" in Iraq should leave the country now that the fight against ISIS was coming to a close.
"Iranian militias that are in Iraq, now that the fight against ISIS and ISIS is coming to a close, those militias need to go home. The foreign fighters in Iraq need to go home and allow the Iraqi people to regain control," the US state secretary said.
In response to Tillerson, top Iranian diplomat noted that the anti-ISIS fighters “are already in their homes and have not been waiting and will not wait for anybody’s order,” adding, “If they had waited for orders from Tillerson and US government, today, we would have had ISIS in Baghdad and Erbil.”
He emphasized that the anti-ISIS fighters have only acted in line with orders from religious authorities and defended their own homeland.
"Unlike the US that sees its interests in division and discord, the Islamic Republic of Iran sees its interests in cooperation and collaboration with regional countries,” Zarif said.
On Sunday, the Iranian foreign minister also slammed Tillerson’s remarks, saying they had been uttered under the influence of petrodollars of certain states.
Iran has been lending official military advisory support to Iraq and Syria in the face of foreign-backed Takfiri terrorists.
