NCRI – In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat which appeared on its website on March 15, the British ambassador to Iraq, Christopher Prentice expressed "disappointment" at the Iranian regime's conduct in Iraq and especially in the southern port of Basra where the British troops are stationed.
He said that the history of the Iranian-Iraqi relations "is disappointing, particularly in the past years, because Iran's behavior has been very negative, especially in southern Iraq in general."
Prentice called on Tehran to rethink its policy towards Iraq. He said: "I hope that Iran will play a positive role towards Iraq in the future, because Iraq and Iran are neighbors and the relations between them must be fruitful and based on the principle of mutual respect and equality."
He added: "The history of Iran's behavior in Iraq, particularly in the past years, has been disappointing. The reason is that the Iranian behavior was very negative, especially in southern Iraq in general, where Iran encouraged the establishment of militias and funded and armed these militias."
He continued: "Now, however, I believe that Iran must reconsider these actions because they affect Iran's reputation, especially among the Iraqi Shi'is. The Iraqi Shi'is might admit that these policies are negative and that they contravene Iran's long-term interests in Iraq."
