Al-Monitor - Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s comments that his country would abide by US sanctions has taken Iranian media by surprise.


"As a matter of principle we are against sanctions in the region," Abadi said at a press conference Aug. 8. "Blockade and sanctions destroy societies and weaken regimes." He added that they are a "strategic mistake" but that Iraq "will abide by them."

Given Iran's immediate and unconditional support for Iraq after the rise of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group in northern Iraq in 2014, compared with that of the delayed and conditional support of the United States, Iranian media and social media users were very critical of Abadi's support of US sanctions. One official even mentioned memories of the Iran-Iraq War.

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