Iraqi minister rejects US anti-Iran claim - Gayo Lues

“It’s a lie. If weapons were being transported, we would have been informed. Some time ago, weapons heading for the United Arab Emirates went through Iraq; we were informed about that…,” Hadi al-Amiri said in an interview with Niqash website.

The Iraqi minister added on Thursday that US claims about Iran transporting weapons to Syria through the Iraqi airspace were “just another part of the way the US lies and spreads propaganda.”

“Yes, there are flights from Iran to Syria passing over Iraq – but there are also flights heading to Jordan, and to Europe. Thousands of planes use Iraqi airspace every month…. There’s no country in the world that forces all flights passing overhead to land so that their cargo can be inspected!” he stated.

Al-Amiri noted that if there was any doubt about Iranian cargos containing weapons, the Iraqi government would not have given Iran’s aircraft permission to use its airspace.

“The Americans told us that there were weapons being transported through our airspace so we asked them to provide us with evidence of this. We also contacted the Iranians and told them that…if we get any evidence that indicates that this is happening, we’ll stop Iranian planes flying through our airspace,” he emphasized.

“I’d also like to point out that Iran can ship far more weapons to Syria by sea – ten times more, in fact. So why would it be using our airspace?” the official added.

On Thursday, March 15, Iran sent the first consignment of humanitarian supplies, including medicines and medical equipment, to Syria to help people affected by the unrelenting unrest in the Arab country.

Later on Thursday, Tehran sent a second consignment of humanitarian aid, including food and medical supplies, to Damascus.

The Washington Times claimed the same day that Iran was dispatching weapons to Syria via the Iraqi airspace.

It quoted an unnamed US official as claiming that Iraq refused “several” US requests to either stop Iranian cargo flights bound for Syria or allow them to be inspected.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March and many people, including security forces, have lost their lives in the violence.

SS/AZ