Sistani Receives Rouhani, Stresses Respect For States’ Sovereignty

Iraq’s Senior Shiite Cleric Ali Sistani, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Najaf on Wednesday. (Ali Sistani’s media office/AFP/Getty Images)
Iraq’s Senior Shiite Cleric Ali Sistani, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Najaf on Wednesday. (Ali Sistani’s media office/AFP/Getty Images)
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Sistani Receives Rouhani, Stresses Respect For States’ Sovereignty

Iraq’s Senior Shiite Cleric Ali Sistani, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Najaf on Wednesday. (Ali Sistani’s media office/AFP/Getty Images)
Iraq’s Senior Shiite Cleric Ali Sistani, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Najaf on Wednesday. (Ali Sistani’s media office/AFP/Getty Images)

Iraq’s Shiite cleric Ali Sistani underlined the importance of respecting the sovereignty of states, during his meeting on Wednesday with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

A statement by Sistani’s office said Iraq’s top Shiite cleric welcomed “any move to strengthen Iraq’s relations with its neighbors based on respect for state sovereignty and non-interference in its internal affairs.”

Sistani emphasized, in light of the fragile situation in the region, “the need for international and regional policies to be balanced and moderate in order to spare people more tragedies and damage.”

He pointed out that the most major challenges facing Iraq at this stage were fighting corruption, restricting the use of weapons to state and security services, as well as improving public services.”

Sistani’s office statement highlighted “the fateful war waged by the Iraqi people to defeat ISIS,” and “the great sacrifices made by the heroic Iraqis to achieve victory over this terrorist organization and to eliminate its danger from the entire region.”

The meeting was held on the third day of Rouhani’s visit to Baghdad.

Shiite cleric Haidar al-Gharabi told Asharq Al-Awsat that talks between Sistani and the Iranian president gave many “indications of the current stage in Iraq, represented by a multitude of agendas, especially foreign ones.”

“Iran is an important international player in the region and Iraq; therefore, the understanding with the highest religious authority in Najaf comes in this context, especially as we believe that Iran has positive attitudes towards Iraq,” Gharabi said.

Sistani had closed his doors since late 2015 to Iraqi politicians, including presidents, ministers, MPs and bloc leaders. He also refused to receive the French foreign minister who visited Iraq in January.



Trump Threatens Bombing if Iran Does Not Make Nuclear Deal

An Iranian painter repaints one of the famous anti-US murals in Tehran, Iran, 29 March 2025. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
An Iranian painter repaints one of the famous anti-US murals in Tehran, Iran, 29 March 2025. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
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Trump Threatens Bombing if Iran Does Not Make Nuclear Deal

An Iranian painter repaints one of the famous anti-US murals in Tehran, Iran, 29 March 2025. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
An Iranian painter repaints one of the famous anti-US murals in Tehran, Iran, 29 March 2025. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH

US President Donald Trump threatened Iran on Sunday with bombing and secondary tariffs if Tehran did not come to an agreement with Washington over its nuclear program.
In Trump's first remarks since Iran rejected direct negotiations with Washington last week, he told NBC News that US and Iranian officials were talking, but did not elaborate.
"If they don't make a deal, there will be bombing," Trump said in a telephone interview, according to Reuters. "It will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before."
"There's a chance that if they don't make a deal, that I will do secondary tariffs on them like I did four years ago," he added.
Iran sent a response through Oman to a letter from Trump urging Tehran to reach a new nuclear deal, saying its policy was to not engage in direct negotiations with the United States while under its maximum pressure campaign and military threats, Tehran's foreign minister was quoted as saying on Thursday.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reiterated the policy on Sunday. "Direct negotiations (with the US) have been rejected, but Iran has always been involved in indirect negotiations, and now too, the Supreme Leader has emphasized that indirect negotiations can still continue," he said, referring to Ali Khamenei.
In the NBC interview, Trump also threatened so-called secondary tariffs, which affect buyers of a country's goods, on both Russia and Iran. He signed an executive order last week authorizing such tariffs on buyers of Venezuelan oil.
Trump did not elaborate on those potential tariffs.
In his first 2017-21 term, Trump withdrew the US from a 2015 deal between Iran and world powers that placed strict limits on Tehran's disputed nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.
Trump also reimposed sweeping US sanctions. Since then, Tehran has far surpassed the agreed limits in its escalating program of uranium enrichment.
Tehran has so far rebuffed Trump's warning to make a deal or face military consequences.