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Saudi FM: Iran’s presence in Iraq devastating

February 15, 2018 at 4:45 pm

Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir in Manama, Bahrain on 30 July 2017 [Stringer/Anadolu Agency]

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir yesterday described the Iranian presence in Iraq as destructive.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Kuwait International Conference for Reconstruction of Iraq, Al-Jubeir expressed hope that Baghdad, in cooperation with neighbouring countries, can build a better future for its people.

He warned of the emergence of terrorist organisations after Daesh was eliminated in Iraq and its influence has been curbed in Syria.

“Daesh was defeated in Iraq and will be defeated in Syria, but the organisation is changing and moving to other areas,” he warned.

The minister said there is a fear that the group will move to Libya where some of its members are currently stationed.

Read: Iraq army moves to secure planned oil route to Iran

The three-day conference in Kuwait raised $30 billion, far short of the $88 billion Iraq said it needed to rebuild after the damage caused by the three-year war with Daesh.

The Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Achim Steiner, said that the conference could have raised more funds if Iraq didn’t have such a bad reputation amongst investors of being the world’s tenth most corrupt country.