Hawzah News Agency - Noting that al-Kadhimi is Iraq’s interim prime minister, al-Shammari said it was not within his government’s authority to decide whether to extend the United States’ military presence there.

According to the Communication and Media Affairs Centre of al-‎Nujaba in Iran, Nasr al-Shammari, the official spokesman and deputy secretary-general of the al-Nujaba Islamic Resistance group, tweeted in regard to the recent remarks made by Mustafa al-Kadhimi, the prime minister of Iraq, concerning the presence of American troops in the country.

Emphasizing that al-Kadhimi is the interim prime minister of Iraq, al-Shammari said, “His administration is merely in charge of advancing current affairs, such as holding early elections, and not only the interim government, but also the permanent government has no authority to invite foreign forces or extend their presence, which is contrary to the constitution and parliamentary decrees.”

Citing paragraph four, article 61 of the constitution, he called the Council of Representatives (the Iraqi parliament) the only body that has the legitimacy to decide on such issues.

Referring to the complete contradiction between the statements of the commander of the occupying coalition, General Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., and the words of al-Kadhimi, al-Shammari added, “This contradiction shows that in this context, the claims of both the Iraqi and American governments, or at least one of them, are invalid.”