After maintaining silence since the Iranian incursion into Iraq and the takeover of the Fakkah oil well in the province of Misan in southern Iraq, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki declared at a tribal conference held in Baghdad yesterday that Iraq will no longer remain silent in the face of any violation of its "land, skies and water."
In his reply to reporters, Al-Maliki denied that he had accused a neighboring country – Syria – but ignored Iran's interference in Iraq's internal affairs. He said a fair-minded person would recognize that he had not remained silent with regard to any interference in Iraqi affairs.
Al-Maliki's statement came in the wake of demonstrations in Basra on Saturday against Iran's incursion into Iraqi territory. Demonstrators congregated in front of the Iranian consulate in Basra shouting "No No to Iran." The organizers declared that it was necessary to demonstrate in the face of the government's silence on the violation of the Iraqi territory.
It was reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki will visit Iraq in the next few days, and that resolving the issue of the Fakkah oil field will top his agenda.
[Iran must be quite aware of the hostility towards it in the Iraqi street.
An Iraqi journalist made the observation to MEMRI staff that as a result of the Fakkah incident, the Iraqi street has become more nationalistic than the government. Such development could harm the prospects of the pro-Iranian political parties in the parliamentary election.]
Source: Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, January 4, 2010; Almarayanews.com, January 3, 2010
