REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, TEHRAN -- Iran has not sent military forces to Iraq, Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said Wednesday, denying the presence of any Iranian military officials in the crisis-torn Arab state.
"As the Iraqi ambassador to Tehran emphasized, none of Iranian military officials are in Iraq," and the claims concerning the presence of Iranian military forces in the country are "not true," Afkham said in her weekly press briefing.
She also said the claims about Iran's intervention in Iraq are "propaganda and aimed at weakening the Iraqi government."
On Tuesday, the Iraqi Ambassador to Tehran Majid Al-Sheikh denied the presence of Iran's military forces as well as Iranian military commanders in Iraq, saying Iraq "will never accept any help from foreigners ... and we are ready to defend the country by ourselves."
Asked whether the two countries will cooperate militarily to encounter the Sunni militants of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Afkham said that "So far, Iraq has not asked Iran ( for such a cooperation). If there is a request, Iran will decide on that based on its mutual relations with Iraq and within the framework of international regulations."
The situation in Iraq is improving, she said, adding that this is because of interaction among different Iraqi political groups in fighting "terrorism."
International community should also observe its responsibility vis-a-vis Iraq so that democracy could be established in the country and in the region, the Iranian foreign ministry official added.
The Islamic republic of Iran said that it will not send any military forces to help the Iraqi government in its fight against the ISIL, but Iranian President Hassan Rouhani recently said Iran would do everything to protect Muslim Shiite shrines in the Middle East country.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sunday his country is strongly against any U.S. intervention in Iraq's internal affairs, and believes that the Iraqi people, the government and the country's religious leaders are able to end the violence by themselves.
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