Ahmadinejad To U.S.: Get Out Of Iraq Now

March 4, 2008 6:31 a.m. EST

Baghdad, Iraq (AHN) - Ending his two-day visit in Iraq, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sent out a message to U.S. troops still in the area, telling them that they are unwelcome in the region.

The statement was made after Ahmadinejad agreed to loan Iraq $1 billion, one of his attempts to start "a new chapter" of relationship between the two former enemy nations.

"We believe that the forces that came from overseas and traveled thousands of kilometers to reach here must leave the region and must let the people of this country rule themselves," said Ahmadinejad during a news briefing at a Baghdad villa.

"If they claim they want to spend their money developing the people of these countries, they'd better be off spending the money on their own countries," he added.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani revealed that aside from the loan, the two nations have already formed an alliance "to secure heir borders in order to prevent infiltration of terrorists and smugglers," reported the Chicago Tribune.

This allegiance between the two countries, however, had been receiving cold comments from some Iraqis, in the context that getting in between the fight between Iran and America was not something they were willing to be involved in.

"These allegiances are old, and they are coming from a long history of hostility between the two sides," said Sherwan al-Waili, Iraqi Minister of State for National Security. "We hope Iraq does not get involved. We don't want to be part of the Iran-American struggle."

China Daily reported that the U.S.'s heated battle with Iran was being fueled by suspicions of the Middle Eastern country smuggling weapons in Iraq, which soldiers were using against U.S. troops.

The report stated that U.S. President Bush made a statement Saturday calling for Iran to "quit sending in sophisticated equipment that's killing our citizens."

Ahmadinejad bit back by saying the terrorism within the region started with the arrival of the U.S.