Controversy Surrounds Alleged Iraq-Iran Arms Deal

Rumors have circulated since those talks were held on paving the way for concluding deals for Iraq to buy weapons from Iran. This raised concerns among the Iraqi opposition parties, with some parliamentarians of the Iraqiya List expressing fear of possible repercussions of such a deal on the US-Iraqi relationship, not to mention reservations about the quality of Iranian weapons, since Iran is not considered in the league of developed countries in arms production.

Iran’s defense minister, Mohammed Hijazi, denied reports of a deal with Iraq, while at the same time expressing his country’s readiness to aid Baghdad in its war against al-Qaeda. In addition, Hassan Dana’I Fer, Iran's ambassador to Iraq, declared that Baghdad had not made a request to purchase weapons from Iran. Members of the Iraqi parliament's Security and Defense Committee claimed to be unaware of any information about an arms deal between Iraq and Iran.

Given that the news of a deal was allegedly announced by an Iraqi official but later refuted by officials from both Iran and Iraq, the possibility exists that it was an attempt to gauge the pulse of the Iraqi public’s reaction to such a deal, as well as that of other parties, including the United States.

Therefore, although this "news" appears to be false — as there is no evidence to support it, and there is plenty of evidence against it — it could become a reality in the near future, given that Iraq needs urgently to arm its military, especially since previous arms deals with the United States and Russia faced some difficulties and barriers.

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