‘US has outstayed its welcome in Iraq’

The United States has worn out its welcome with the Iraqi people who are upset about the occupation, Iran's Ambassador to Baghdad says.

Hassan Kazemi Qomi, in an interview with The Los Angles Times, described Iraq as "an independent and free country, a country which we [Iranians] wish had stability and security," expressing hope that it would soon witness the withdrawal of all foreign military forces from its territory.

He also said that Iran was "taking steps with the Iraqi people to support the Iraqi government in the political process and in the security process," ruling out that Tehran supports insurgency in the war-torn country.

Kazemi Qomi said the American's decision to impose a security pact on Iraq in a bid to provide footing for the US military presence in the country would make Iraqis 'angrier' as the deal did not take their interests into account.

He warned that the deal had to be in the interests of the Iraqi people who would "disagree with anything that breaks their independence or sovereignty."

The Iraqi people were 'upset' that Americans term their offers democratic and in line with the path of freedom.

The Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), the proposed Iraq-US security plan, provides a legal basis for the presence of US troops in Iraq after the UN mandate expires later this year.

The agreement has sparked outrage among Iraqi people and clerics who consider the deal a pretext to allow a permanent US bases inside Iraqi soil. presstv.ir