Iraqi politicians on Monday hit back at Donald Trump after the US president said he plans to keep American forces in the country to spy on Iran.
In an interview with CBS television, Trump reaffirmed his determination to pull the United States out of “endless wars” in Syria and Afghanistan but said American troops would stay on in Iraq, partly “to be looking a little bit at Iran”.
“We spent a fortune on building this incredible base. We might as well keep it,” he said, referring to Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq that he visited in December.
“If somebody is looking to do nuclear weapons or other things, we’re going to know it before they do,” he said in the interview aired on Sunday.
His comments sparked a new round of demands in Baghdad for US forces to leave the country.