And Iraq, given its security condition, needs cooperation and support of neighboring states to overcome the crisis, added the paper in its Opinion column.
Given that the Islamic Republic of Iran believes Iraq can provide its security without the presence of foreign forces and that it considers the security of the country as an important part of its security, therefore, Tehran will continue assisting the Iraqi people and government, it said, adding that Iran’s policy in Iraq and the region is establishing peace and security and Iran will not give up this strategy.
Following weeks of talks between political factions in Iraq, the parliament finally gave a vote of confidence to the government of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. Abadi is scheduled to select two ministers to sensitive and key ministries of defense and interior next week through interaction with political factions in the parliament. Undoubtedly, the reason for the delay in appointing the ministers to the two posts is their important role in establishing security and stability in the country.
ISIL terrorist group, along with remnants of the former regime, with direct and indirect support of the certain Arab and Western countries, has turned Iraq into an ideological battleground. Therefore anyone who will come to power in these ministries should be a popular, moderate, strong, experienced and jihadi figure. Today, the Iraqi society is restoring and strengthening stability and national security due to unity and harmony between Iraqi groups and the government. The parliament’s vote of the confidence to the new government was good news and showed that the Iraqi society is committed to the Constitution and that Iraqi politicians prefer national interests to partisan ones.
Respecting the law, democracy and accepting the democratic frameworks by the political factions of the parliament will surely strengthen cooperation between the government and the parliament. The formation of the cabinet also shows that most of the ministers such as oil, economy and foreign affairs are national and moderate figures.
This will have a good impact on providing stability in the country, delivering services to the people and boosting Iraq’s foreign relations, it noted.
Although there are people with different views in the cabinet like Nouri al-Maliki and Iyad Alawi, this issue will not pose a threat to the effectiveness and coherence of the government. Iraqi political groups have different views on political and international issues but due to the sensitive situation of Iraq and given the presence of national figures in the cabinet, it seems that sympathy and solidarity will prevail within the cabinet.
But the existing different views among factions in the government cannot be denied, it said.
The speedy and timely formation of the government shows that Iraqi politicians aim to end political disputes and insecurity in the country. Hence, the new Iraqi administration will be more efficient and coherent than the previous government.
On the other hand, it is expected that cooperation and interaction between Iraq and the global community will increase in the future due to the regional and ultra-regional support for the government.
The threat of ISIL and efforts by Western and Arab states to contain the terrorist group has paved the way for political and security cooperation between Iraq and other countries, concluded the paper.
*Hassan Kazemi Qomi, writer of the article, served as Iranian ambassador to Iraq during 2003-2010.