Maliki's remarks on the kingdom, the minister emphasized that "we have reached a conviction with respect to statements of al-Maliki over the years, and that much of what Maliki says has neither basis nor credibility." He said that the "sectarian policies adopted by him during his tenure as prime minister of Iraq led to the creation of strife in Iraq and marginalization of the Sunnis, and the entry of the ISIS into Iraq. The last one to accuse the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia of supporting terrorism is al-Maliki. The Iraqi government issued a statement that this does not represent its point of view toward the kingdom. The Iraqi charge d'affaires in Riyadh was summoned and we delivered a strong-worded message with respect to these statements. I do not know why he makes such statements from time to time." He added, "What I know is that the policies adopted by him during his tenure as prime minister in Iraq and the sectarianism promoted by him led to destruction in Iraq, unfortunately. We know that Iraqis refuse such a tone, and the people of the region and its peoples reject it as well," indicating that the kingdom is one the first countries to suffer from terrorism and at the forefront of fighting terrorism. The kingdom is attested by the international community in dealing firmly with terrorism, extremism, the financing of terrorism and the fight against the ISIS as part of the international coalition in Syria." On Iranian officials' statements, the minister asked about "the reason for the recent escalation and intensification of these statements. I expect that they have to do with the agreement because before it, they refused many of the conditions that were put to them. They may have to do with the defeat of their allies in Yemen, or with the deterioration of the situation of their ally Bashar Assad in Syria or they may have to do with the arrival of the international community to the conclusion that the sectarian policies that were followed in Iraq should be abandoned and reforms that were agreed upon last summer should be applied. Iran may see that these things are provoking to them." The minister said, "We reject their aggressive talk about the kingdom and the countries of the region because it does not represent good neighborliness and confirms the aggressive approach taken by Iran towards the countries of the region." The minister said that sanctions against Iran are still on and will remain until the implementation of the agreement whose implementation has not started yet and which has not been adopted by the Security Council and this will take several months. Flow of money will not happen in hours or days. It will take some time and the lifting of sanctions will be gradual, and the use of money will be gradual too." He pointed out that the countries of the world hope that Iran will use the money to develop the economy and invest in its future, infrastructure and education and expressed his belief that part of the Iranian people and youth in particular hope to open up to the rest of the world for a different future, an investment that should be done by the Iranians. --More 02:54 LOCAL TIME 23:54 GMT تغريد
