...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneouslytaking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet
militiasto extend the regime's influence. The word
Iranis a cognate form of
Aryan,the abbreviation
IRGCis a cognate form of
Stürmabteilung (or SA),the term
Supreme Guideis a cognate form of either
Shahor
Führeror maybe both, and they hate
will not hesitate to target American bases in Iraq if the United States attacks the Islamic Theocratic
Republic, Tehran’s ambassador to Baghdad said this week in a clear warning from a top Iranian diplomat and former senior member of the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force.
banging his spoon on his highchair
Speaking to Iraq’s Dijlah satellite TV channel, Ambassador Iraj Masjedi said that if the United States chooses to escalate already heightened tensions between their nations, then American forces will not be safe in Iraq.
"If they [the US forces] don't cause any problem for the Islamic Theocratic
Republic, Iran won't respond to this presence [of US forces in Iraq]," Masjedi said in an interview aired on Thursday. "If the Americans want to cause any problem for the Islamic Theocratic
Republic, they have to expect a response and reaction," Masjedi added.
There are about 5,000 US troops currently based in Iraq.
"A demand of Iran is for American forces to get out of the region because they don't do any positive or constructive work. This is not strictly about Iraq. It is about wherever they exist," said Masjedi.
Baghdad has repeatedly sought to prevent Iraq becoming a battleground between its allies and neighbours, a stance President Barham Salih stressed when he addressed the United Nations
...where theory meets practice and practice loses...
General Assembly: "Terrorism is looking for a gap to rise again, therefore conflict and tensions in the region will create this vacuum that terrorism can take advantage of, so let’s make peace not war."
Iraq could, however, be dragged into conflict by pro-Iranian factions within its Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), known in Arabic as the Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitaries. Tensions have already spilled into Iraq, albeit on a small scale. Twice, in a little over four months, rockets and mortars have been fired near the US embassy in Baghdad.
The attacks have largely been attributed to Iranian-backed units within the PMF, many of which have called for US troops to leave Iraq. Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi has ordered gangs to cease their attacks.
The Iranian ambassador rejected the categorization that some PMF units may be acting on directions from Tehran. "If the Islamic Theocratic
Republicresponds [to an attack], they respond too. They can't accept Iran being threatened, but eventually this is their decision... no one can force them to do anything," Masjedi said, adding that they cannot prevent PMF units from targeting other countries in defence of Iran.
Ambassador Masjedi also gave lip service to Iraq’s independence, telling Dijlah TV Tehran does not intervene in Iraq’s domestic affairs. "Iran doesn't make the decision for these countries, but it asks them and suggests to them [to force US troops out]," he said.