Speaker Says American Project Has Failed

The speaker of Iraq’s parliament, Mahmood al-Mashhadani, has said the American project in Iraq has failed because of the deteriorating security situation. He said Sunni and Shia, Arabs and Kurds are jointly engaged in a process of winning back sovereignty for Iraq and ending the occupation. The speaker also said that neighbouring states, especially Iran, needed to lend their support to restoring security and stability in Iraq. Al-Mashhadani said he was visiting Iran in order to normalise and strengthen the relationship between the two countries.