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Against the backdrop of attacks carried out against U.S. military bases in Iraq by pro-Iran Shi'ite militias, particularly in Kurdistan in the north of the country, former Iranian ambassador to Iraq Hassan Danaeifar said that the attacks on the U.S. forces will continue as long as they remain in Iraq. He made the statements in an April 19, 2021 interview with the Iranian news agency Tasnim.
Danaeifar served as ambassador from 2010 to 2016, after holding several senior positions in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), including IRGC deputy naval commander, head of the IRGC University of Command and Staff, commander of the IRGC's Khatam Al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters, and also administrative and financial affairs deputy chair in the secretariat of Iran's Expediency Council. In 2007, he served as secretary of the Headquarters for Iran-Iraq Economic Relations at the presidential palace, and headed the Iranian delegation to the Iran-U.S. security talks in Baghdad that year. In January 2012, as Iran's ambassador to Iraq, Danaeifar told the ISNA news agency that "Iran's presence in Iraq has been and still is logical."[1]
It should be noted that Iran is spearheading the fight against the U.S. presence in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq, and is demanding that the Iraqi leadership expel U.S. forces from the country.
Hassan Danaeifar (Source: Tasnim, Iran, April 19, 2021)
The following are excerpts from Danaeifar's remarks in his recent interview with Tasnim:[2]
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"The Americans Are Very Vulnerable And Their Abilities Are Not Very High-Level"
"These attacks [on U.S. bases and facilities in Iraq] are part of similar operations against the American forces throughout Iraq. The [Iraqi] citizens, and especially Iraq's young people, cannot stand the presence of the Americans in their country.
"The American troops must leave Iraq, in accordance with the Iraqi parliamentary decision. However, the Americans occasionally conduct talks with Baghdad officials and make promises [to leave the country], but take no action [to do so].
"Some people may think the Americans are very powerful, but that is not true. The Americans are very vulnerable and their abilities are not very high-level – so there is no need to think every action taking place in the world is controlled by America.
"These attacks [on U.S. bases and facilities in Iraq] show that the Americans can be struck with basic weapons and gear. Through media and propaganda [efforts], America has apparently managed to instill baseless fear and [create an illusion of] its invincibility.
"You once thought of America as a homogenous society of satisfied citizens who all want to live there, but the recent events in America have shown that it is a polarized society with many disagreements, and it is very fragile. You even saw how vulnerable the Capitol is. So it is not true that America is invincible on the political, economic, security, and military levels. I believe that the Americans have spread propaganda regarding this.
"America was [once] at the height [of its powers], but today it is in decline, and it will have to leave [our] region. The Americans claim that they will withdraw their troops from Afghanistan in August. America has no choice but to pull its troops out of Iraq [as well].
"As I said, the attacks on the American military bases are part of the same attacks being carried out in central and southern Iraq. It is not true that the Americans are well-liked in one part of Iraq and resisted in others. A foreigner is a foreigner, and the Iraqis regard the Americans as an invading force and as foreigners, and such forces are hated by the Iraqi citizens in various parts of this country.
"If the Americans wish to concentrate their forces in Kurdistan and northern Iraq, they will be dealt with [there], just as [they are dealt with] in other parts of Iraq. This is because the young people of Iraq do not want foreign troops in their country. Therefore, the attacks on the American military bases will continue."
