Iraq seeks exclusive bilateral relations with Iran – speaker

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraq‘s new parliament speaker Osama al-Nejeifi conferred at his office in Baghdad on Sunday with Iranian ambassador in Baghdad Hassan Danafar and informed him that Iraq wishes to achieve exclusive relations with Iran, based on mutual respect and non-interference in each others’ affairs. “Nejeifi stressed during the meeting the significance of the socio-economic relations linking both sides and the work to boost relations in all political, economic and security fields and the necessity that such relations be based on mutual respect and non-interference in internal affairs,” according to a statement by the parliament‘s media office received by IraqiNews.com news agency. Danafar, on his part, congratulated Nejeifi over his new post and conveyed the congratulations of Iranian Foreign Minister, Manouchehr Mottaki. The Iraqi parliament, after eight months of continuous arguments and discussions that followed the nationwide elections on March 7, elected on 11/11/2010 a candidate of al-Iraqiya bloc, Osama al-Nejeifi as parliament speaker, the leader in the Sadrisit Movement, Qusay al-Suheil as his first deputy, and Member of the Kurdistan Alliance Aref Tayfur as his second Deputy. The parliament also elected President Jalal Talabani for a second term in office. Talabani later assigned Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to form the new government. SKH (S)/AmR 1