BAGHDAD: Iraq demanded on Thursday that the US government backtrack on a decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel´s capital and summoned the US ambassador in Baghdad to protest the decision.
US President Donald Trump reversed decades of US policy on Wednesday and recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, imperilling Middle East peace efforts and upsetting the Arab world and Western allies alike.
Iraq is the only country to have an alliance with regional powerhouse Iran and the United States, who do not see eye-to-eye. The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said it had summoned the US ambassador in Baghdad and that it would hand him a memo protesting Trump´s decision.
"We caution against the dangerous repercussions of this decision on the stability of the region and the world," an Iraqi government statement said. "The US administration has to backtrack on this decision to stop any dangerous escalation that would fuel extremism and create conditions favourable to terrorism," it said. Iraq´s top cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani condemned the decision and called on the "Umma", or Islamic nation, to unite its efforts and reclaim Jerusalem.
12-08-2017, 08:20 AM
Iraq demands US backtrack on Jerusalem, summons ambassador
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