Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi , Baghdad, Iraq, October 23, 2019. Photo: Reuters
BAGHDAD,— Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi told French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Sunday in a phone call that officials were currently working on implementing parliament’s resolution on expelling foreign troops.
“The prime minister said the relevant Iraqi officials in various government departments were preparing a memo outlining the legal and procedural steps required to implement parliament’s resolution on the withdrawal of foreign troops,” Abdul Mahdi’s office said in a statement.
Le Drian conveyed a message from French President Emmanuel Macron asking for time to discuss the future of foreign troop presence in a way that respects Iraq’s sovereignty, the statement said.
Iraq’s parliament on Sunday backed a recommendation by the prime minister that all foreign troops should be ordered out, responding to the U.S. killing of a top Iranian military commander and an Iraqi militia leader in Baghdad.
A special session of parliament passed a resolution saying that the Shi’ite-led government, which is close to Iran, should cancel its request for assistance from a U.S.-led coalition.
However, one Sunni Muslim lawmaker said Sunni Arab and Kurdish minorities fear the expulsion of the U.S.-led coalition will leave Iraq vulnerable to an insurgency, undermine security, and further empower its Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias.
Most Sunni and Kurdish lawmakers boycotted the session, and the 168 lawmakers present were just three more than the quorum.
Qassem Soleimani, the 62-year-old commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force, was killed in the U.S. air strike in Baghdad on January 3, 2020. The attack, ordered by President Donald Trump, sent tensions between the United States and Iran soaring, with Iranian officials promising revenge.
Copyright © 2020, respective author or news agency, Ekurd.net | Reuters