ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – US Defense Secretary Ash Carter said that Washington’s Gulf partners would be called to do more for Iraq as it fights the Islamic State group (ISIS), as he vowed to stand with regional countries against any threat by Iran. Carter, who was visiting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday, said there is “the concern by everyone in the region, which we share, about the possibility of Iranian aggression and malign influence, and the need to stand with them.” Iran’s Gulf neighbors and US defense officials have voiced increasing concern over Iranian involvement in Iraq and Syria, and about Tehran recently testing out new missiles. But last week Iran’s top international advisor, Ali Akbar Velayati, called on the US to keep its nose out of its business. “At the request of these governments (Iraq and Syria), we support them (in their fight) against terrorists and it is none of Americans’ business to say anything in this regard,” said Velayati, who is the top advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Carter told reporters that his own country continues to stand with the government in Iraq in its fight against ISIS, and that he was in the Gulf to discuss what more could be done by Gulf countries to help Iraq. Carter said he would be “continuing to discuss with our Gulf partners, the additional contributions they are making -- military, economic and political.” He suggested that Gulf countries would be called on for more economic help to help Iraq fight ISIS – or ISIL -- and rebuild, especially with Baghdad facing a severe financial crisis brought on by flagging oil prices. Referring to Iraq and Syria, he said that “these badly broken places, destroyed, by ISIL, pillaged by ISIL, mistreated by ISIL, are going to need to be rebuilt. The US defense secretary noted that “oil prices are down, and that has a serious impact in Iraq, which depends so heavily upon oil to support all of its regions, and therefore to support the overall multi-sectarian state, which is what we support, and what Prime Minister (Haidar) Abadi wants. “Iraqis want to get ISIL off their territory, and after they do that, they want to get back to some sort of normal life, and that's going to take some economic and political help, as well as military help, and so even as we're looking to make contributions in all three of those areas, so also can the Gulf partners, and we'll want to talk to them about that,” Carter told reporters. But he emphasized that Washington would not make a move without Baghdad’s permission. “I do want to emphasize that, you know, we're very careful, as is appropriate. Everything we do is with the permission of the Iraqi government. That's the way we operate there. That's the way we'll continue to operate there.”
