Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf says the United States’ presence in the Persian Gulf is driven solely by the desire to plunder regional resources.
Speaking during a meeting with President Nazar al-Amidi of Iraq on Wednesday, Qalibaf said the recent 40-day war on Iran has proven that foreign military presence is a source of instability, not security.
“The United States has approached the countries of the Persian Gulf and the region only to loot and plunder their resources,” Qalibaf stated.
“Experience and the recent conflict have proven to regional countries that Americans are not only incapable of guaranteeing their security, but are actively the disruptors of regional peace.”
A legacy of unity
Qalibaf began the meeting by extending profound gratitude on behalf of the Iranian people and the current leadership of the Islamic Revolution to President Amidi and the Iraqi people.
He specifically thanked the estimated 10 million Iraqi citizens who participated in the historic mourning ceremonies for the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, across Iraqi cities.
“Iran and Iraq have always stood by each other in the hardest of times,” Qalibaf noted, contrasting the current era of solidarity with the past, when “a figure like Saddam, through US instigation and deceit, committed heinous crimes against both our nations.”
He said the visionary policies of the martyred Leader over the past four decades successfully forged a new horizon of unity among Islamic nations.
On the recent 40-day war, Qalibaf said Iran and Iraq have realized that the United States and the “criminal, vile nature of the Zionist regime” are the root causes of regional conflicts, which have inflicted the heaviest toll on both nations.
He said the United States has suffered a decisive military and political defeat in this recent aggression, failing to achieve any of its objectives and now finding itself in a state of desperation.
Looking beyond security, Qalibaf highlighted the vast economic potential between the two nations, pointing to specific joint infrastructure projects.
He emphasized that the completion of the Shalamcheh-Basra railway, the dredging of the Arvand Rud waterway, and the expansion of border markets are critical steps toward deepening bilateral interactions and reducing reliance on external, hostile actors.
Iraq condemns ‘no war, no peace’ status
In response, President Amidi welcomed the Iranian delegation, condemning the recent US-Israeli aggression as an inhumane war that violated international law and inflicted severe consequences on Iraq and the broader region.
Describing Iran and Iraq as “one nation living in two lands,” Amidi said Iraq’s strategic stance is firmly rooted in the culture of resistance.
He said the current “no war, no peace” limbo between Iran and the United States must come to an end.
“Integrated regional security can only be achieved through the collective security of the region’s own countries,” Amidi said. “As a supporter of regional stability, Iraq will stand with the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Qalibaf’s visit to Baghdad represents a critical diplomatic and strategic maneuver in the post-war landscape of West Asia.
Arriving with a high-ranking parliamentary delegation, including the head of the Iran-Iraq Parliamentary Friendship Group, Mohammad Taghi Naghali, and key members of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, the visit is designed to cement the political and military alignment of the Axis of Resistance following the recent 40-day conflict.
Upon arrival at Baghdad International Airport, Qalibaf and his delegation immediately visited the exact site where Lieutenant General Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were martyred in a US drone strike in 2020, paying solemn respects to the architects of Iran-Iraq strategic unity.
He also held separate talks with Iraqi Parliament Speaker Hebat al-Halbousi and Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi.
