ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — President Barham Salih joined in the chorus of Iraqi lawmakers questioning US President Trump's future plans to station forces in the country merely to "watch" Iran.
He dismissed the idea that Trump has asked him to extend troops beyond the anti-ISIS mission.
"You asked me whether President Trump has asked Iraq about it. He has not," said Salih.
He reiterated that the current deployment of US forces in Iraq is based on the agreement of the "specific" mission beyond helping Iraqi forces in the fight against "terrorism, Daesh, and ISIS."
"...they have no other definition or defined mission beyond helping Iraqi forces ," said Salih.
He reiterated that the Iraqi constitution does not allow it to be used in a regional or international tug-of-war.
“Our priority is developing good relations with our neighbors Iran is our good neighbor,” Salih said on Monday.
He was speaking at the Rafidain Center for Dialogue (RCD) Forum in Baghdad on Monday.
“Don’t overburden Iraq with your own issues,” Salih said. “Iran needs space, support and understanding in order to make its own policies.... We do not want to be part of any axis..." said Salih.
The day before Trump said on national television that he clearly wanted US forces to remain in Iraq beyond the defeat of ISIS.
“We're going to keep watching and we're going to keep seeing and if there's trouble, if somebody is looking to do nuclear weapons or other things, we're going to know it before they do,” he said.
The comments drew the ire of top Iraqi politicians including deputy parliament speaker who claimed the Americans were planning on using the country's soil to spy on neighbors.
He vowed parliament would draft legislation to kick US troops out.
Former Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, whose Nasr List finished third in the parliamentary election, echoed his countrymen’s sentiment.
"Iraqi sovereignty must be respected," he tweeted on Monday morning. "Its interests should not be compromised. Iraq should not be used as a spring board to attack its neighbours.
Abadi does not hold a post in government, but his electoral success surmounted that of Dawa Party leader and strongman former Primer Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
"We are not proxies in conflicts outside the interests of our nation," said Abadi.
Trump's own distrust with his diplomats and intelligence agency are at the heart of his comments, which refuse to say Iran is in violation of the nuclear part of the JCPOA.
With the announced US troop draw down in Syria, there are many bases where US forces could be rotated. The US military has denied that it has begun shuffling forces from Syria to Iraq.
Analysts warn that indicators of pre-2014 conditions exist in Iraq that would allow for an ISIS resurgence or evolution.