By Mick Krever, CNN
Posted at 2040 GMT (0440 HKT) June 25, 2019
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Iraqi President: We don't need another war 15:58
London (CNN) — Under no circumstances will Iraq allow the United States to use its bases in Iraq to launch an attack on neighboring Iran, Iraq's President Barham Salih told CNN.
"We do not want our territory to be a staging post for any hostile action against any of our neighbors, including Iran," Salih said in an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour in London on Tuesday.
"This is definitely not part of the agreement between the Iraqi government and the United States."
In his interview with Amanpour, the Iraqi President Salih questioned the efficacy of sanctions to change a country's behavior, saying there was a "fundamental question" about whether sanctions could induce a country to change policy.
Related Article: Here's what you need to know about the US-Iran crisis
"We in Iraq have suffered from sanctions in the 1990s, and the devastation that has afflicted Iraqi society has been really enduring, even to date," he said
US policymakers have repeatedly accused Iran of regional malfeasance in recent days, like mysterious attacks on ships in the Gulf of Oman, which many observers say echo the drumbeats heard ahead of the Iraq war in 2003.
Amanpour asked Salih if he, too, saw the connection. He pointed out that then-Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was "a unique case in history," and then added: "But the parallel is as follows: It's easy to start a war, but very, very difficult to end a war."
Posted at 2040 GMT (0440 HKT) June 25, 2019
Play Video
Iraqi President: We don't need another war 15:58
London (CNN) — Under no circumstances will Iraq allow the United States to use its bases in Iraq to launch an attack on neighboring Iran, Iraq's President Barham Salih told CNN.
"We do not want our territory to be a staging post for any hostile action against any of our neighbors, including Iran," Salih said in an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour in London on Tuesday.
"This is definitely not part of the agreement between the Iraqi government and the United States."
In his interview with Amanpour, the Iraqi President Salih questioned the efficacy of sanctions to change a country's behavior, saying there was a "fundamental question" about whether sanctions could induce a country to change policy.
Related Article: Here's what you need to know about the US-Iran crisis
"We in Iraq have suffered from sanctions in the 1990s, and the devastation that has afflicted Iraqi society has been really enduring, even to date," he said
US policymakers have repeatedly accused Iran of regional malfeasance in recent days, like mysterious attacks on ships in the Gulf of Oman, which many observers say echo the drumbeats heard ahead of the Iraq war in 2003.
Amanpour asked Salih if he, too, saw the connection. He pointed out that then-Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was "a unique case in history," and then added: "But the parallel is as follows: It's easy to start a war, but very, very difficult to end a war."
